A man was caught harassing an endangered sea turtle in a disturbing incident in the southern resort city of Eilat last week.
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Omri Omsi, an inspector at the Nature and Parks Authority in Eilat, said: "Last week, we received a report of an encounter between a man and a large green sea turtle, in which the man chose to hold on to the turtle and ride it. The video was captured by citizens who watched the difficult scene of animal abuse underwater." He said, "Thanks to the documentation of the incident in real-time, we were able to arrest the citizen and interrogate them."
Omsi explained: "When we encounter rare animals, we enjoy the proximity to them and watching them, but we must not make contact, ride them, or get in their way. The Nature and Parks Authority has made great efforts to protect the protected turtles at the National Sea Turtle Rescue Center in Michmoret. We track them and document them, and we're really happy to see the public enjoy them.
"It's important the public assist us in maintaining the natural values we get to see in the sea, just as the two citizens who contacted us did. If you find an injured animal or an animal in distress, report it to the Nature and Parks Authority hotline at *3639."
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