Read previous episode: WCP by CM Day 2 Part 1: Seeing Sea Turtles For The First Time
It was our second day on the East Coast of Malaysia! We spent our morning in Cherating, Pahang, learning much about sea turtles- a graceful yet highly endangered marine creature. The representatives of Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia (TCS), who had collaborated with Charisma Movement in facilitating our Wildlife Conservation Project, brought us to Rimbun Dahan Turtle Sanctuary after a scrumptious local lunch. Throughout our trip, our meals were arranged by TCS- we got to try some special delicacies from the East Coast including Terengganu's special Nasi Dagang (steamed glutinous rice served with fish curry), keropok lekor (fried fish cakes), fermented fish sauce and many more.
Rimbun Dahan Turtle Hatchery is popular locally for its long-term commitment in turtle conservation work. Siblings Along and Alang now manage the centre with the help of their interns, continuing their late father, Pak Su's effort. Their work there mainly include incubating sea turtle eggs bought from poachers and releasing hatchlings into the wild. Prior to reaching the venue, we were told stories about woeful beach erosion that had happened during the recent nation-wide lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This was no kidding matter as sea turtles lose nesting grounds. Much to the managers' relief, the local community and volunteers had lent them a helping hand in building wave-breakers using old latex tyres, which would shield the damaged beach areas from further harm.
We got to take a look at Rimbun Dahan's own sea turtle hatchery. Different number of shade layers were fixed over the top of the hatchery in different areas. This is a common tactic used to regulate the sand temperature as eggs incubated in cooler temperature are prone to develop male sea turtles while a hotter environment usually lead to female fetal growth. This phenomenon is also known as Temperature-dependent Sex Determination (TSD).
The whole area was decorated with murals on walls and painted signs on wooden boards left by tourists, with beautiful and hopeful messages for sea turtles. We were split into groups to paint murals on walls and wooden boards- my team of three was given a huge piece of wall, and it spent us more than two hours and a half to complete them. As we did not have brushes or rollers for the walls, we had to use small paintbrushes (the ones you normally use for art projects), so it was rather challenging for our patience. Not to mention the Malaysian weather which scorched unrelentingly. Yet, none of us complained (verbally) much, we focused on the handiwork while chit-chatting about life in general. Proud to say that was an effective team-bonding community service.
After having sweat streaming down our faces and backs for almost three hours, the artworks were completed. We hastily cleaned the equipment and our hands, and gathered in a shadier location for a briefing from Along. One of the most intriguing things I have learnt from her was that an established market for sea turtle eggs exist just as the demand and supply curves cross naturally for other goods. But why is there a normal supply curve in the first place? According to the Enakmen Penyu Terengganu 1951 (Pindaan 1987) (Terengganu Turtle Enactment 1951 (Amendment 1987)), Terengganu state only bans sales of Leatherback Turtle eggs- YES, the species I mentioned that is already extincted locally! Where are the laws protecting other species? Currently, only Sabah state bans sales of turtle eggs regardless of species under the Enakmen Pemeliharaan Hidupan Liar 1997 (Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997).
Rimbun Dahan Turtle Hatchery purchases turtle eggs from local poachers at RM2.50 each. There was an attempt to raise the price by RM0.30 by the poachers during the nation-wide lockdown when it was economically tough for businesses, but it was sternly rejected by the managers. I understood the mangers' decision as taking a step back and allowing poachers to raise the price would only disrupt the market price in the future.
Better known as 'Mama Turtle', Along, thanked us profusely before revealing that she had prepared us all a surprise. As she gave her interns a signal, a Green Turtle of the length of half a human arm was brought out and placed in a large tank readily located in the shady spot we gathered before the briefing started. We were shown Zorro, a 4-year-old female turtle with a blind eye- a natural birth defect. It was found circulating on the same spot when it was first released- the managers at Rimbun Dahan decided to take care of it until it has grown into a size suitable to fend for itself. It would have been an easy target otherwise.
Sea turtle hatchlings spend 15 days swimming on the water surface as their natural instincts prompt them to get as far as they could from their natal beaches. This causes them to be an obvious prey from predators soaring in the air as well as dwelling in the deep. They will spend these days swimming towards the open ocean without feeding, using only the remaining egg yolk they have in their bodies as their source of energy. Then, they will start feeding on planktons and continue their migration journey across the oceans. During this time, scientists have no idea what happens to them until they are spotted back on their natal beaches to nest, thus naming the process 'the lost years'.
We were immensely surprised by Along when she brought out a bucket of baby sea turtles- which I swear was the most adorable thing I have seen in my life. Baby turtles normally takes five to seven days to crawled out of the sand as the chamber in which their eggs were planted could go as deep as a human adult's one arm's length.
Sea turtle eggs are exposed to dangers of being poached by humans, hunted by monitor lizards, infested by fungi and maggots; when they hatch, babies might be eaten by predators such as foxes, crabs and sea birds on their way to the sea. Even when they reach the sea, carnivorous fish and sea birds remain huge threats.
Did you know, even when eggs are successfully incubated,
it is estimated that only 1 out of 1000 baby sea turtles
would survive till adulthood?
Most dangers simply do not end until they are large in size and their shells hard as stones. Yet, boat propellers and pollution are still issues that may harm their lives.
When I was handed one to release, just like the river terrapins we adopted, we got to let them race. I named my baby 'Gomenasai', a Japanese word for 'Sorry', as an apology on behalf of humans to their kind. It's been way too long since humans started poaching sea turtle eggs and destroying their habitats and nesting grounds with pollution as well as coastal development. As much as I felt bad for these fragile creatures, I saw the baby in my right hand as a symbolism of HOPE. There was so much potential in that little body- it could live for decades and swim to the furthest point I would ever reach in the oceans. It could go anywhere it wants to.
We were told that the best time to release baby turtles is at dusk, when the sea birds have returned to their nests and the fish have become inactive. This highly reduces the risk of them getting eaten as they start their journey. The beach became slightly crowded with locals, who I assume come for a swim every evening. Some were staring at us, intrigued by our curious faces seeing baby sea turtles for the first time as they were a normal sight to them. Along warned some of the kids to keep away from the babies, so as to provide them a straight clear path. And there they went, into the unknown. I never stopped praying that they remain safe and healthy.
Darkness veiled the Earth quickly as we left Rimbun Dahan Turtle Hatchery for dinner. It was a long day, as we still had another programme at night which was fireflies watching. The course started promptly after dinner as we heard from Hafiz, who manages Hafiz's Cherating Activities (which provides a range of programmes including river kayaking, mangrove river cruise and so on), about the fireflies living in the mangroves along local river banks. We learned about how sensitive fireflies are to light pollution and were warned not to use our mobile phones during the cruise trip. Hafiz shared with us that human activities and development near rivers have caused fireflies to lose their habitats. While he could not stop national development work, he insists in contributing to Mother Nature by planting mangroves near where he operates his centre. He also uses his river cruise to spread awareness about fireflies, hoping that ecotourism would inspire more people to care for the environment.
I remember Hafiz telling us that he could call the fireflies like buddies, and allow them to surround us on the boat. I surely did not buy his story, at all. I was on a similar cruise trip in Kota Tinggi, Johor, where we got to observe fireflies on trees along the river banks- none flew close to us humans. And my disbelief was proven redundant when we got on the trip. Hafiz made a special whistle sound, flailing a dim orange torchlight I believe was highly attractive to the luminous insect. In no time, we were surrounded by tiny spots of flickering gold lights. A few landed on my shirt, a few on the sides of the boat, I could even gently 'trap' one at a time between my palms to observe them.
They look just like large ants, but they fly and give out lights in their abdomens. It was a magical experience (sounds cringy but totally true). At some moments when the fireflies were not around, we looked at the night sky, luminously lit by starlight- only visible as the sky was absolutely clear, with no clouds or light pollution. We even sort of recognised a few constellations- but none of us could tell for sure. Seeing a galaxy of stars above us simply reminded us of how insignificant we were, merely like a speck of dust, and it was humbling to embrace such a majestic sight. However, we could not take any photos owing to the ban of phone use and our phone cameras could not have captured the stars anyway.
'There are things you can only see with your eyes,
just the same as how
there are things you can only feel with your heart.'
That was a long day. This is a long post. We drove back to our homestay and rested early that night, intensely excited for what was more to come on this trip.
Read Episode 4: WCP by CM Day 3: Into A Mangrove Swamp!
By,
Euan Thum.
Euan Thum.
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