Bernama New Straits Times 26 Jun 08;
After a two-year absence, the leatherback turtles finally returned to Rantau Abang, Dungun twice recently and this has renewed the hope of saving the reptiles from extinction. Terengganu Fisheries Department director Munir Mohd Nawi said the endangered species landed at the beach on June 12 and 23 after their last appearance almost two years ago.
“It is a positive sign as it can help us rehabilitate the species. We are expecting between five to seven more landings of the species beginning early next month,” he told reporters at the Media with the Fisheries Department programme at the Ma`Daerah Turtle Sanctuary here today.
He said 167 turtle eggs retrieved from the landings were being kept in the incubator for hatching at the Rantau Abang Turtle Sanctuary.
It will take almost two months for the eggs to hatch depending on the weather and temperature, he said, adding that, the landing of the species dropped sharply in the last 16 years.
Munir said the results of the cloning of leatherback turtles at the Turtle and Marine Ecosystem Centre (Tumec) in Dungun - as part of efforts to prevent extinction of the species - would materialise soon.
