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The body is covered in a thick shell and has seven stripes, quite similar to those found on the belimbing fruit. The leatherback turtle is darkly coloured with small white spots on certain parts of its body.
It feeds on jelly fish and other small creatures from the sea.
The nesting season is from May - August and it lays between 60 - 120 eggs each time. The eggs are 5-6.5cm in diameter. The eggs are round and soft, much like a soft golf ball.
The Leatherback Turtles can only be found in the beaches of Pahang and Terengganu and the islands off the coast of these states.
Malay: Penyu Lipas
English: Olive Ridley Turtle
Latin: Lepidochelys olivacea
One of the smallest species of turtles in the world. The average size is from 15-65 cm long and weighs up to 50kg.
The surface texture is dark green or even darker (like an olive). This turtle feeds on crabs, shrimps and small clams.
The nesting season is between March - June and an average of 100 eggs are laid each time. The eggs are soft and round, but slightly smaller than the leatherback's. The eggs are 4cm in diameter.
The Olive Ridley Turtles can be found in Pahang and Terengganu and the isles surrounding these states.
Malay: Penyu Agar
English: Green Turtle
Latin: Chelonia mydas
This turtle got its name from the greenish fat content in its body. The outer shell is dark brown or blackish-brown. It can reach 1.2 metres in length and can weigh up to 270kg.
The Green Turtle feeds on algae and seaweed. However, for a short period of time, after it is born, these turtles become carnivorous for a few days.
The nesting season is from April - September and each nesting produces 100-140 eggs. The eggs are 5cm in diameter.
The Green Turtle can be found in most states in Malaysia, especially near the islands.
Recent newspaper artitcle on the Green Turtles of Malaysia:
Amazing Feat of the Green Turtles
Article from The Star newspaper dated 25 June 2006
BY K. SUTHAKAR
KEMAMAN: She was nicknamed Tumec 4, a female green turtle that was released from the Turtle and Marine Ecosystem Centre (Tumec) in Ma’Daerah here, on Aug 20, last year.
Her journey was tracked by satellite and by the time the battery ran out 60 days later, she had traversed 2,390km to the Sulu Sea in the Philippines.
Two other female turtles tracked at the same time ventured as far as Vietnam and Indonesia but the only male turtle tracked settled for Tioman.
This is believed to be the first time that a green turtle had been tracked navigating such a distance from a nesting site in Malaysia.
The four turtles were fitted with transmitters to allow them to be tracked by an American satellite. The data was relayed through a French ground station, which passed the information to Tumec via the Internet.
The Tumec 4 turtle was released on Aug 20 last year, the Vodafone 1 turtle also on the same day, Vodafone 2 on Aug 29 and Tumec 5 on Sept 9.
Vodafone 1 was spotted in the waters off Vietnam after navigating 1,600km and Vodafone 2 was spotted off Java island, 1,290km away.
The only male released, Tumec 5, was detected near Pulau Tioman, which was about 350km away.
Tumec head Kamaruddin Ibrahim said: “I believe this is the first time a green turtle nesting in Malaysia have been tracked navigating such a distance.”
Turtle scientist Prof Chan Eng Heng agreed, saying a green turtle released in Pulau Redang between 1993 and 1995 was detected in the south of Pahlawan Island in the Philippines.
It had navigated 1,700km.
Kamaruddin believed that leatherbacks migrate further from their nesting ground to feeding grounds.
In the 1970s, he said two leatherbacks tagged in Rantau Abang were found dead in Japan after being caught in fishing nets.
He said the tags were returned to the Fisheries Department.
“This further proves that we can only do so much in conserving turtle nesting in Malaysia such as incubating the eggs and protecting the nesting sites.
“Due to the migratory nature of turtles, we cannot protect them when they navigate long distances to their feeding grounds,” he said.
According to a report in the Internet, the ability of the sea turtles to migrate thousands of kilometres is one of the most remarkable acts in the animal kingdom.
That adult females return faithfully to nest on the very beach where they were born makes the feat even more amazing, it said.
Kamaruddin said Tumec planned to track more turtles but was short of funds.
Those willing to sponsor the transmitters (each costing RM7,000)
can contact him at: 006-09-845 8169 or email kdin55@yahoo.com.
Malay: Penyu Karah
English: Hawksbill Turtle
Latin: Eretmochelys imbricata
The mouth of this turtle is shaped like a hawk's beak, hence the name: Hawksbill Turtle.
The scales of this turtle overlap one another and this turtle is also known as penyu sisik in Malay ('sisik' means scales).
This turtle can weigh up to 75kg. It rarely grows to more than a metre long.
The turtle nesting season is from March - June, with an average of 130 eggs laid per nesting. The eggs are round and soft, around 5cm in diameter.
The Hawksbill Turtle can be found in Melaka, Johor, Pahang, Terengganu, Sabah amd Sarawak.
It is with great sadness that the MATA Team has to report the predicament of some Malaysia turtles in Terengganu.
The article below is from the Star Newspaper, dated March 27, 2006:
By K. SUTHAKAR
KUALA TERENGGANU: It’s shocking and the Fisheries Department must investigate it quickly – that is the order from the state.
An upset Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh said this when asked to comment on allegations that fishermen at the Kijal beach in Kemaman had killed turtles.
“This should not happen as the state is serious about conserving the critically-endangered species,” he said.
Idris said he sensed something amiss with the decreasing number of turtle nestings in the state over the years.
“This cannot be due to pollution of sea water or trawler activities alone.
“I had a hunch that turtles were getting entangled in the drift nets laid by fishermen,” he said here yesterday.
Idris was commenting on a report in The Star on Friday that 26 species of turtles had died at the Kijal beach since early this year.
The report quoted two egg collectors who alleged that fishermen killed the turtles that got entangled in the nets.
Instead of freeing them, the fishermen took the easy way out by bludgeoning the turtles on the head and flippers, they alleged.
Idris directed the department to confiscate the nets, which had been banned several years ago.
When contacted, egg collectors Mohd Jamali Mohamad, 27, and his friend Yusof Bakar, 54, who made the allegations, said they were ready to co-operate with the authorities.
“If the department is interested, I can show the burial spot of the leatherback, which was killed by fishermen on March 17,” said Mohd Jamali.
He alleged that 11 leatherbacks nested at the Pantai Teluk Senajang in Kijal last year, but fishermen stole the eggs.
This, he said, was saddening since the species was on the verge of extinction in the country.
What Can You Do to Help the Malaysia Turtles?
1.) Do not pollute the seas and the natural habitat of the Malaysia turtles. Do not throw rubbish into the seas and oceans or on the beaches.
2.) Stop the use of fishing equipment that can accidently injure or kill the turtles.
3.) Do not disturb the nesting grounds of the turtles.
4.) Do not purchase or consume turtle eggs.
If the buying stops, the killing can too.
5.) Respect and appreciate Malaysia turtles as one of nature's wonders. Be kind to these gentle creatures.
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