Sea turtles in Malaysia need a hospital

Lee Yen Mun The Star 24 Aug 10;

PETALING JAYA: Pollution, and not poaching, is the main cause for the dwindling turtle population.

Tengku Arif Temenggong (TAT) Turtle Sanctuary co-founder Datin Rowena Baker said more turtles are dying due to pollution, where foreign objects left in the sea have contributed to the death of the animals.

Mistakenly eating items such as plastic bags and bottle caps, the garbage blocks the turtles’ intestinal tract, hence choking them to death.

“What is worse is that there are currently no dedicated rehabilitation centres, or turtle hospitals, to treat injured turtles in the country.

“This means that all this while, the ill turtles on our shores have had very little chance of survival as we do not have the facilities to treat them,” said Baker.

On Saturday, the turtle sanctuary – which operates in Pulau Tioman – attempted to resuscitate a green turtle found with part of its shell broken.

Suspected to have been hit by a speedboat, it died shortly after due to internal injuries.

Baker said she had sought advice from a turtle rehabilitation centre in Greece – the Archelon Rescue – via e-mail, but it was too late to save the young turtle.

A retired professor in conservation biology in Kuala Lumpur also echoed the need for a turtle hospital.

“Under the Fisheries Act, injured turtles must be surrendered to the Fisheries Department for rehabilitation.

“As far as I know, there is no place in Malay­sia where expert care can be given to ill turtles,” said Prof Chan Eng Heng, who has carried out research and conservation work on marine turtles since the 1980s.

“There are just too many cases of wild turtles that were not well that died due to the lack of expert medical attention,” Chan added.

He also noted that there were currently only a handful of turtle hospitals worldwide.

On Aug 13, The Star reported that the defiling of the ocean had increased the risk of hatchlings being born with deformities.

The report said that the turtles – mostly born without eyes – failed to survive beyond three days due to the physical defects.

Baker also listed fishing mishaps, such as accidental trapping of a turtle in a net or by a fishing hook, as the other major hazard that causes turtle injuries.

Turtle park hooks up with vet to save Eva
Alina Simon New Straits Times 24 Aug 10;

TIOMAN: The Tengku Arif Temenggong Turtle Sanctuary here yesterday mounted a mercy mission to save a Hawksbill turtle (penyu karah), which had a fishing hook in its throat.

It flew in an aquatic veterinarian from Universiti Putra Malaysia to treat the injured reptile, believed to be a 30-year-old female.

Sanctuary co-founder Datin Seri Rowena Baker said the turtle, with a fishing line in its mouth, was found by a Berjaya Tioman Resort staff during a diving expedition 10 days ago.

Resort staff tried to clear the line but it was tied to a fishing hook lodged deep inside the animal's throat.

"They kept the turtle, which they called Eva, for two days before deciding to release it back into the sea after failing to remove the hook," Baker said.

"Luckily, my vet suggested that I contact a marine animal expert at UPM and I promptly called Associate Professor Dr Hassan Mohd Daud for advice.

"He was kind enough to offer to treat the animal provided we could find it again. Luckily, the same person who found the turtle managed to capture it for treatment on Friday."

She said the expert and an assistant were flown into the island yesterday morning and taken to the resort where Eva was kept in a large container.

The examination could not be conducted immediately as it took some time to coax Eva to fall asleep despite being injected with 15ml of sedative.

After more than an hour, Dr Hassan inserted an endoscopy camera into Eva's throat and found the hook deeply lodged 30cm inside.

"The good news is that there are no lacerations, bleeding or ulcers on the throat and the hook appears to be made of carbon as it is dark coloured.

"If it goes into the stomach, hopefully the (stomach) acid will help dissolve it naturally," Dr Hassan said before injecting Eva a dose of antibiotics and vitamins.

Dr Hassan, who has 20 years' experience treating aquatic animals including turtles in captivity, said it was his first time handling wild turtles.

Rowena said they planned to release the turtle back into the sea as soon as possible to allow it to heal.

Eva also became the first turtle in Tioman to be tagged by a team from the Pahang Fisheries Department from Kuantan.

It is learnt that the department plans to tag all the turtles that land on the island to lay eggs.

The department currently tags turtles that land in Cherating.

Marine wildlife clinic plan
Alina Simon New Straits Times 25 Aug 10;

PULAU TIOMAN: Eva, the hawksbill turtle (penyu karah) that had a fishing hook lodged in its throat, was released back into the sea yesterday.

The 30-year-old female reptile was released at the Berjaya Tioman Resort beach yesterday.

Tengku Arif Bendahara Turtle Sanctuary co-founder Datin Seri Rowena Baker, who coordinated the effort to save the turtle, said the animal had a chance of healing naturally in the sea.


A worker at the resort found the turtle two weeks ago with a fishing line in its mouth while diving nearby.

It was released after resort staff failed to remove the hook but was recaptured after Universiti Putra Malaysia aquatic veterinarian, Associate Professor Dr Hassan Mohd Daud, agreed to step in.

He flew in and examined the turtle but decided not to do anything further as the hook was lodged 30cm inside its throat.


It was the second turtle rescued by the sanctuary since its inception four years ago.

The first was a green turtle (penyu agar) which died of its injuries on Sunday, including a cracked shell after being hit by a speedboat.

Rowena said the authorities should do something to help injured marine wildlife like turtles and the dugong.


"There are many islands, including Pulau Tioman, which depend on eco-tourism.

"It will be great if the authorities coordinate their efforts to help protect marine wildlife," she said, adding that the sanctuary planned to set up a clinic to help treat injured marine wildlife.

"This is our long-term goal. It will be costly but we aim to raise enough funds.

"By having a clinic, we also hope to expand cooperation with Dr Hassan and UPM by inviting their veterinary students here to gain experience."