Guest guest Posted July 12, 2007 Report Share Posted July 12, 2007 Thursday July 5, 2007-The Star Turtles shun Terengganu KUALA TERENGGANU: The leatherback turtles are no longer nesting in Terengganu. There has been no nesting of the critically endangered Leatherback turtles in the state so far this year. Turtle and Marine Ecosystem Centre (Tumec) Kamaruddin Ibrahim said there were five nestings last year but " unfortunately none of the eggs hatched. " " We are just keeping our fingers crossed, hoping that the reptiles will visit us as the nesting season is up to September, " he said. He said there was an abundance of nesting sites here in the early 1960s but now even sighting one leatherback nesting was difficult. The leatherback is the largest turtle in the world. To ensure the leatherback turtles continue coming to Terengganu, Tumec has put in place certain precautions, including round-the-clock patrols and beefing up enforcement during nesting season. " We have to introduce several drastic measures to protect the turtles from extinction, " he said. Kamaruddin noted that irresponsible fishermen were the main threat to the leatherback as drift nets, cast to trap stingrays, inadvertently trap and cause the deaths of the turtles. " Leatherbacks could become history if the situation is not contained, " he said. Mature leatherback turtles can grow to as long as 2m and weigh almost 900kg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.