Turtle Release

Today, I checked an item off my bucket list!

I adopted a turtle hatchling and released it into the sea!

My son Josh and I went on a turtle release excursion at the Rimbun Dahan Hatchery, Pahang.

Pak Su (Uncle Su in Malay) and a couple of  marine biology students run the place.

The hatchery

Eggs from the mama turtles' nests are reburied in artificial nests like these. Each 'nest' is marked with the date, number of eggs, and anticipated hatching date. Chicken wire is used to protect the eggs from poachers and predators.

The incubation period of a Green Turtle lasts 45 - 60 days.

Lending nature a helping hand

Tree roots and soil compaction (caused by rain on sand that's too fine) hamper the hatchlings from digging themselves out.

Green Turtle hatchlings

These little guys  can live up to 100 years! But sadly,  only 1 in 1,000  will survive to adulthood. 

The sex of a Green Turtle is determined after fertilization. The incubation temperature of the developing eggs defines the sex of the offsprings. This is called temperature-dependent sex determination, or TSD.

As Ben Guarino of The Washington Post reports, at roughly 85 degrees Fahrenheit, turtle nests produce equal amounts of males and females. A tad cooler and the clutch leans male. A little warmer and embryos develop as females.

You can't tell the sex of a hatchling. Until the turtle is fully grown, it's hard to sex a turtle.

I named my baby Penyu (turtle in Malay) and prayed on it before releasing it.

Although a short distance to the sea,  it is a long, perilous journey for the vulnerable hatchlings and they have to get into the water as soon as possible. This is a very important step. As they navigate towards the sea, they imprint where their natal beach is and will return back to the very same beach as their mamas did before them to lay their eggs. This is the reason why you just can't pick them up and plonk them into the water. Crawling towards the sea is part of the imprinting process.
We were told that a tagged hatchling traveled as far as Japan and returned  15 years later to the same beach to nest! What brilliant navigators!

Crabs and birds see these little fellas heading towards the sea as easy meals.

Almost there, little buddy!

Yayyy!  Penyu made it! Suddenly, an eagle swooped down and snatched one of the hatchlings that was already far out in the water. I saw the little guy's itty bitty flippers dangling from the bird's talons as it soared back into the sky. Poor baby! Nature is cruel. Such is the circle of life.

Josh's hatchling appeared to have a deformed flipper. We watched sadly as the little fella staggered slowly towards the sea, far behind the others. With a survival rate of less than 1%, sending a handicapped hatchling to the open sea is like giving it a death sentence. Mother Nature is a bitch.

Goodbye, little one!

Being a part of Penyu's journey from the moment it struggled out of the nest and ensuring that it made its way safely to the water was, unquestionably, one of the most profound and emotional experiences of my life.

It breaks my heart to learn that the battle for survival has only just begun. Many will drown in the pounding waves. Hungry fish are ready to strike. And a myriad of other threats await them in the ocean. 

The emotional send-off

With hearts full of hopes, we watched our babies disappear from the shoreline and into the sea 

When I lie awake at night, I think of Penyu. I pray that God watches over my little buddy. If it's female, I hope she will be back on this very beach where I was standing to lay her eggs.

A juvenile Green Turtle

Remember Crush from Finding Nemo?  He is a Green Turtle.