Mohammed Al Hassani is the only turtle ranger in Oman. He has worked at the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa for over 10 years rescuing and protecting sea turtles. As a child, Mohammed enjoyed rescuing turtles from fishing nets and this became his lifelong passion and career. As the sole turtle ranger, he monitors turtle nests, educates guests about sea turtles, and ensures baby turtles safely reach the ocean. Mohammed finds satisfaction in seeing the turtles protected and enjoys sharing his knowledge with others.

1. Oman’s one and only
TURTLE RANGER
January 7, 201624
Personality

2. Alia, Aisha, Khalfan, Shamsa and Saeed. These are
the Arabic names given to turtles by Oman’s one and
only turtle ranger.
A casual chat with Mohammed Al Hassani reveals
his sincere devotion to the job. His care for sea
turtles have seen him saving over 3,000 turtles so
far from fishing nets. He is full of energy when he
speaks about them and the care he bestows on his
pets towards their safety.
Mohammed works at the Shangri-La Barr Al
Jissah Resort & Spa, which is privileged to have two
species regularly nest on its beaches mainly the
Green Turtle and Hawksbill Turtle, the most frequent
visitor and critically endangered.
The Sultanate is one of the world’s most important
areas for sea turtles as five species visit the waters
of Oman, and four of these nest on the beaches of
Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa throughout
the year.
Mohammed thoroughly enjoys his work with turtles
which extends to wee hours on the shores. They
are in danger of extinction. When turtles hatch, they
struggle to survive from the predators to safely
reach the ocean. Some of the turtles even do not
have any chance to meet their mother since once
they lay eggs they will leave and never come back.
It is here Mohammed’s job is crucial at the Resort.
He feels he is lucky to be born a human being and
remarks that “when we were born, we are already in
the safe arms of parents, we are already sheltered
and provided clothes, food by our parents. However,
this is not the case with turtles,” he says.
His day-to-day task is therefore is not as easy
as one imagined. He prepares the equipment to
protect the nest starting from the pole with rope
to signage “Please don’t step on the turtle nest”. He
then is busy preparing and updating the information
Liju Cherian
Mohammed says he is happy to
see the baby turtles reach the
ocean safely, to see the happy
faces of the guests in the resort,
gives me a satisfaction and I can’t
ask for more.
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Personality

3. on turtles for the guests. In the late
afternoon, he is engaged in conducting a
“Turtle Talk” for the guests when he can
share his life experience with turtles and
its nature. By night fall, he is fully busy with
turtle tracking.
How did Mohammed come to choose a
career as a turtle ranger? He shares an
interesting story. As a child, he used to go
for snorkeling with his brothers and friends
at the Qantab beach. Whenever he spotted
a turtle which usually gets stuck in a net, he
would rescue them and release it back into
the sea. Since then it has become a hobby
for him. When he was about 15-years-
old, Five Ocean, an environment service
company, appointed him as one of their
ambassador. The job enabled him to know
more about the turtles which made him
chose his hobby as a life time career with
goals to preserve and save them.
Later in the process he became aware
of many turtles which frequent Shangri-
La’s beach to lay eggs and also the fact
that Shangri-La shares the same vision of
protecting the environment and to create
a sanctuary for local protected animals. It
was therefore wise that he decided to join
Shangri-La and dedicate his knowledge
and skills to be a turtle ranger.
Mohammed joined Shangri-La back in
2005. He usually is busy at his work as a
ranger from 11 am to 8 pm but during turtle
nesting season he works from 4 pm to 2
am. The turtle nesting season will begin
by beginning of January and goes on till
August.
Says Mohammed: “I am proud to be
part of Shangri-La since it’s one of the
well-known international hotel chain that
embraces the nature and has a number of
programmes to protect the environment.
I have been given many opportunities to
attend useful training in order to enhance
my knowledge about turtles.” When the
release of turtle hatchlings is announced
to the guests staying in the hotel, many
in-house guests from young children to
adults are excited to see releasing the baby
turtles back into the sea. “To see the baby
turtles reach the ocean safely, to see the
happy faces of the guests in the resort,
26 January 7, 2016
Personality

4. gives me a satisfaction and I can’t ask for
more. “
Mohammed desires to do some research
on hatchlings of Leatherback and Hawksbill
turtles. He admits that when time comes
for an opportunity he will not miss and
would like to learn more about turtles.
As the Sultanate’s only turtle ranger,
Mohammed feels that it is his love for
turtles that inspires him to do more. “I like
turtles and they are my favourite animals
for me. They are loved and respected
the world over. Turtles are wonderfully
adopted to live a long life with little help. I
am very proud to contribute to their well-
being and help with something that I love
so much.”
Mohammed’s family lives from fishing in
the village of Qantab. He has two younger
brothers and five sisters and his brothers
and brother-in-laws are all fishermen. He
admits that their love towards turtles is the
same as his.
What does he do when he is not busy as
a turtle ranger. During winter he indulges in
camping with his friends and in summer is
out doing for snorkelling and fishing at the
beaches of Qantab.
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is
committed to serve as good stewards
of the environment. The resort’s turtle
care initiative is under the sanctuary
programme. They ensure that every
property built respects local traditions and
culture, restores natural habitats, conserves
biodiversity and manages waste, water and
energy. Under the umbrella of sustainability,
their social responsibility programme
consists of the two elements of ‘embrace’
and ‘sanctuary.’
The initiative focuses on Shangri-La’s Care
for Nature Project which promotes the
conservation and restoration of biodiversity.
There are seven species of sea turtles
in the world today, and six are in danger
of extinction. All over the world, historical
nesting beaches are being encroached
upon, leading to fewer nests and fewer
eggs laid. Fortunately, many countries, like
Oman, are doing their best to protect sea
turtles and ensure that they continue to live
for future generations.
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Personality