Captive hawsbill turtles released in Malaysia

'City' turtles find sea legs
Satiman Jamin New Straits Times 29 Aug 10;

PULAU REDANG: Sea Turtle Research Unit (Seatru) at Cagar Hutang Turtle Sanctuary here scored another first yesterday when it released a pair of juvenile hawksbill turtles into the sea attached with satellite transmitters.

The turtles, named "Duke Aziz" and "Myrtle Adie" were flown from Subang airport in Selangor to the island two days ago.

The pair were hatched at the sanctuary four years ago but had been living at Aquaria KLCC since they were hatchlings as part of Seatru's long-term experiment to see whether it was viable to raise turtles in captivity.

Seatru chief Dr Juanita Joseph said raising turtles in captivity was called "head-starting", referring to the head start the turtles were given in the safe environment in captivity.

She said although juvenile turtles were stronger than hatchlings, the head-starting programme was not without its risks as the turtles raised in captivity might have lost their ability to survive in the open ocean, their natural habitat.

"The satellite transmitter package costs about RM50,000 each including the data retrieval, satellite usage and data recording functions. The one on Duke was sponsored by Aquaria KLCC while Myrtle's was sponsored by The Body Shop."

She said the transmitters would enable researchers to know the location of the turtles as well as how deep they dive and how long they stayed underwater.

"The data would be more comprehensive compared with other transmitters attached to turtles. Previously we only got to know the approximate position of the turtles," she said.

Seatru is a unit of Universiti Malaysia Terengganu and Duke Aziz was named after UMT vice chancellor Prof Dr Aziz Deraman.

The other turtle was named Myrtle by Aquaria KLCC, and the the name Adie was after Adie Mahadi Mustaffa, the longest serving employee at the sanctuary.

Seatru adviser Associate Professor Dr Liew Hock Chark said the data obtained from the voyage of the turtles would help determine the next step in their turtle conservation programme.

"If they cope well after spending their early years in captivity, we may do more head-starting programmes in future," he said.

Although Duke looked a little lost at first as he wandered around the beach, it eventually made it to the water. Liew, Joseph and Seatru staff filming Duke's maiden voyage were pleased when the city-bred turtle proved that it still had not forgotten its roots.

Duke whizzed past the researchers and was gone as soon as his flippers touched the crystal-clear water.

Myrtle Adie, whose gender has yet to be determined, displayed the same behaviour once released from the transport box in which it had travelled from Kuala Lumpur.

It seems the turtles totally agreed with the programme's motto of "Tracking For Freedom".