« burma burma | Main | green faced lion »
February 12, 2007
turtles and levels of endangerment
the categorization of whether a species is extinct or not is outlined by International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). they have a list to evaluate the risk, and the list breaks down like this:
- Least Concerned (LC) - low risk
- Near Threatened (NT) - likely to qualify as a threatened species in the near future
- Threatened
- Vulnerable (VU) - high risk of extinction in the wild
- Endangered (EN) - very high risk of extinction in the wild
- Critically Endangered (CR) - extremely high risk of extinction in the wild
- Vulnerable (VU) - high risk of extinction in the wild
- Extinct in the Wild (EW) - known only to survive in cultivation or captivity
- Extinct (EX) - last individual has died
there are seven species of sea turtles in the world, out of which five are endangered, and two species critically endangered. in malaysia, we can find four types - the leatherback turtle, the green turtle, the hawksbill turtle and the olive ridley turtle.
the leatherbacks (penyu belimbing), which are the biggest sea turtle species, are critically endangered. these are the ones that (used to) frequent rantau abang. they eat jellyfishes (these are the guys who will mistake floating plastic bags as jelyfishes, and will die choking on them when they try to eat it, so please please dont throw plastic bags into the sea). statistics from SEATRU (Sea Turtle Research Unit) of University College of Science and Technology Malaysia shows a drastic drop of nestings found in Terengganu - from 800 nests in 1986 to less than 10 in 1998.
the green turtle (penyu agar/penyu pulau) is endangered. it eats seaweeds and seagrass, and can be found in terengganu, perak, pahang, sabah and sarawak. if you snorkelled in perhentian or redang, and spotted a turtle, it's most likely a green turtle. selingan island, the turtle conservation island in sabah, takes great care of this species.
the hawksbill turtle (penyu sisik) - named such because of the jagged ridge on its shell, feeds on sea sponge and jellyfish (yes, you'd be killing this poor thing too if you throw plastic bags into the ocean). they can be found in terengganu, johore, malacca and sabah. 10% of the nestings in selingan island are hawksbill turtle nests. their efforts are recognised to be the biggest nesting concentration of hawksbill in the Asean region.
the olive ridley (penyu lipas) is the smallest of the malaysian sea turtle species. they eat jellyfishes, fishes and seagrass. they recently made news in penang, and are also found in terengganu, kelantan, and east malaysia.
the other species of turtles not found in malaysia are loggerhead turtles, flatback turtles and kemp's ridley.
given that the turtles are critically endangered/endangered, please please observe the following habits to help them survive:
- please dont throw plastic bags into the sea!
- please collect thrown plastic bags floating in the sea
- dont buy turtle eggs/dont eat turtle eggs/kill your friends who are still eating turtle eggs
if you have the honour of encountering them in the wild, please:
- do not hold on to their shells for a free ride
- do not keep chasing after them or crowd around them like an imbecilic sakai, just observe from a distance and follow it gracefully
- dont show off and play I Can Chase The Turtle, or I Can Dive To Touch The Turtle. Respect Wild Life, dont toy with them
if you see them laying eggs, please:
- keep your distance
- dont sit on the turtle's back like it's a free rodeo ride
- dont use the flash if you have to take pictures, the light hurts the turtle's eye
- dont flash your torchlight directly into the eye of the turtle, or even at the turtle, or around the turtle
if you're walking around at night on a beach where turtles might nest, please:
- walk barefoot - you might crush a little hatchling
- dont flash your torchlight towards the sea - you will discourage female turtles from coming to shore
- dont make too much of a racket for the same reasons as above
i beseech and beg - please respect and protect turtles.
related posts:
posted by nyx at February 12, 2007 12:12 AM
Comments
I never know there is a lot of turtle species...:)
Posted by: dx-xel at June 13, 2007 2:13 PM
Post a comment
| Main |