Turtle Islands National Park

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Turtle Islands National Park
IUCN Category II (National Park)
Location:	Sabah, Malaysia
Area:	17 km²
Established:	1977
Governing body:	Sabah Parks

Turtle Islands National Park (Pulau Penya National Park) is located some 40 kilometers north of Sandakan in Sabah, east Malaysia. It consists of 3 islands - Selingaan, Bakkungaan Kecil and Gulisaan, including the surrounding coral reefs and ocean. The Park is famous for its green turtles and hawksbill turtles which lay their eggs on the beaches of the islands. The Park covers an area of 17.4 km².

On 1 August 1966, the first turtle hatchery in Malaysia was established on Selingaan, funded entirely by the Sabah state government. Turtle hatcheries on the remaining two islands followed shortly after. In 1972, Selingaan, Bakkungaan Kecil and Gulisaan were designated as a Game and Bird Sanctuary. In 1977, this status was upgraded to that of a Marine Park. Permanent park staff monitor the turtles, protect the hacheries and tag the turtles for research purposes.

Turtle Islands Park is administered by Sabah Parks.

Selingaan Island

Only on Selingaan there are chalets for overnight visitors, and those who wish to see the turtles laying eggs must stay overnight. A curious fact of the three islands is that turtles come ashore nightly, not only during certain seasons and thus one is virtually guaranteed to see those ancient mariners. During the peak season (October) up to 50 turtles come ashore to lay eggs.

However, park rules and regulations are strictly enforced and visitors are not allowed on the beach from sunset to sunrise as not to disturb the turtles. A ranger will call all visitors to observe only one turtle laying eggs per night. The eggs are collected and the visitors liberate the beach immediately as not to shy away other turtles which are very susceptible to movement on the beach. After the laying and collection of eggs, and eventual tagging of the turtle if it is a ‘first time visitor’ tourists are allowed into the hatchery to observe the further work of the rangers: the transplantation of the freshly laid eggs into a man-made incubation chamber. The chamber is no different from that of the turtle: between 60-75 cm deep, in the sand, but within a protected hatchery to make it impossible for natural predators to dig the nests open. Since temperature determines the sex of the turtles part of the hatchery is shaded, while the rest remains under the open sun.

After the transplantation of the eggs visitors will get turtle hatchlings – baby turtles – to release into the sea, which is also done by night to further increase their chances of survival.

Not all nests are emptied by the park rangers, but some remain undisturbed and develop naturally. By conserving the turtles the park does not want to endanger other wildlife on the island: many animals that are natural predators of the turtles such as monitor lizards, a crab specialising in turtle hatchlings, eagles and other birds, and marine animals such as sharks. They need the turtles for their survival.

The turtle conservation programme in Sabah is the oldest in the world and with the most detailed statistics and research. Marine turtles have been around for 230 million years at least, but due to human activities they have been brought, over the past hundred years, to the brink of extinction. Let us hope that the work of Sabah Parks is contributing to their survival!