"Oh my turtle, my turtle has gone to the sea already!" shouted a little boy. Ya, everyone of us is very excited to release the turtle hatch-lings into the sea. Releasing turtles into the sea is a turtle conservation project in Terengganu. I was glad to have an exhilarating time of my life to learn about turtle conservation and seeing the little turtle hatchlngs making its way into the sea at Resorts World Kijal, Kemaman, Terengganu.
Crawling and crawling against the waves, these little cutie hatchling turtles are fighting for their lives. They will face many predators along the way and only one in 1000 will live to maturity. Sad, sad.
Crawling and crawling against the waves, these little cutie hatchling turtles are fighting for their lives. They will face many predators along the way and only one in 1000 will live to maturity. Sad, sad.
During the month from April to September, the beaches on Terengganu, the East Coast state of Peninsula Malaysia, will have the bustle of turtle coming to lay eggs. They mainly consisted of the common Green Turtle (Chelonia Mydas) and the occasional rare Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys Imbricate). Pregnant mother turtles will return by instinct to the place where they are hatched to lay eggs.
The eggs will lay incubated for about three months in the sand. The hatchlings will break out of their shells and emerge during moon to make their way to the ocean. The female turtle will come back to the same place, the very beach they are hatched to lay eggs. This is the complete circle of life of the turtle, and Resorts World Kijal has 7.6km beach along the coast of Terengganu has this rare opportunity of welcoming them back. More facts about Green Turtle at National Geographic website
This way to the hatchery.
Resorts World Kijal initiated the turtle conservation program by having their own hatchery. In Terengganu, there are some locals digging out the eggs from the beach to sell it in the local market. It was very rampant about 10-20 years back, but now our government has stated that it is illegal to sell turtle eggs but only for leather back turtles as it is going extinct. Nowadays, turtle eggs are sometimes sold in local market for RM2.50 each as the law does not govern the Green turtle species.
How does turtle eggs taste like? Well I have eaten turtle eggs before when I was working in Kuala Terengganu about 30 years ago. The shell is soft and leathery, the egg inside is coarse and sandy, not smooth like chicken egg. At that time it was sold RM2.00 for 5 eggs. Hence turtle conservation and awareness plays a very important part, especially to the public and the locals.
OK, now let's go to release the turtles! Do the Turtle dance first? Or is it the Baby Elephant dance? Haha.
Resorts World Kijal initiated the turtle conservation program by having their own hatchery. In Terengganu, there are some locals digging out the eggs from the beach to sell it in the local market. It was very rampant about 10-20 years back, but now our government has stated that it is illegal to sell turtle eggs but only for leather back turtles as it is going extinct. Nowadays, turtle eggs are sometimes sold in local market for RM2.50 each as the law does not govern the Green turtle species.
How does turtle eggs taste like? Well I have eaten turtle eggs before when I was working in Kuala Terengganu about 30 years ago. The shell is soft and leathery, the egg inside is coarse and sandy, not smooth like chicken egg. At that time it was sold RM2.00 for 5 eggs. Hence turtle conservation and awareness plays a very important part, especially to the public and the locals.
OK, now let's go to release the turtles! Do the Turtle dance first? Or is it the Baby Elephant dance? Haha.
Here is a video of this interesting releasing turtles experience:
Facing the ocean of South China Sea, with waves lapping up the natural unspoilt beach, Resorts World Kijal is a serene resort.
Imagine the love and labour of a mother turtle making its way up the beach. It may look near and easy to us, but to a heavily pregnant mother turtle with more than 100 eggs in its stomach, the crawl is slow. And with tears in its eyes, you can see the labour of love while its laying eggs. We miss this turtle laying eggs on this trip, as none came up to lay eggs at the time we were in Resorts World Kijal. But I have personally witness this memorable turtle laying eggs occasion on a beach in Kemaman, Terengganu about 30 years ago.
Me trying to crawl up the beach too. To a heavily pregnant mother turtle in labour, I am sure it its tough!
This is a sponsored trip by Resorts World Genting and Resorts World Kijal.
More about Turtle Conservation in Malaysia, check out the Facebook page of Turtle Conservation here.
Other than releasing turtles and turtle conservation, there are many other fun activities on Resorts World Kijal, please check out this Best activities at Resorts World Kijal Hotel
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