Chance for river terrapins to survive in the wild

Written by Dr. Chen Pelf Nyok

Dr. Chen is the co-founder of Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia. She currently heads the community-based River Terrapin Conservation Project in Kemaman, Terengganu, Malaysia.

18 Sep 2009

Date: 18 September 2009
Source: The Star

SETIU: Wading over sandy ground, 99 river terrapins made their way to freedom after being released into Setiu River in an annual event dubbed Terrapin Independence Day.

The event was held before a buka puasa dinner involving 40 local fishermen on Wednesday.

The 99 terrapins were taken by boat to the Tebing Pasir Pak Lah Teh release site.

It was the 5th Terrapin Independence Day since the event was introduced by Dr Chan Eng Heng, a retired professor from Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.

However, it was the first one organised by Turtle Conservation Centre (TCC), a new organisation dedicated to conserving turtles in the state through hands-on conservation, research, public outreach and educational programmes.

Tebing Pasir Pak Lah Teh is the second major terrapin nesting site along Setiu River.

The terrapins were hatched from eggs bought from local egg collectors in 2006, raised in captivity and microchipped before being released.

A total of 384 eggs were bought in 2006, but there were only 275 hatchlings, a hatching success rate of 71.6%.

Kampung Beris Tok Ku Coastal Fishermen’s Alliance chairman Malek Yunus said this terrapin release was more special as it was carried out during Ramadan.

“If we don’t save the terrapins, they will become extinct,” he said.

Sekolah Menengah Tengku Ibrahim teacher Alias Mohamad, who participated in the event for the first time, said he cherished the moment of release.

“I arrived at the site two hours early; it was exciting. Honestly, I have never held a live terrapin although I’m a local,” he said.

Alias hoped to bring along students for the next release as events like this instil a desire to protect the environment and learn about terrapins.

Village elder Mohd Nor Abdul Rahman, 66, expressed sadness over the dwindling number of terrapins in the wild.

“There were a lot of terrapins in the river many years ago, but now I rarely see them,” he said.

Terrapins are on the list of critically-endangered animals.

Dr Chan, the co-founder and CEO of TCC, said she was pleased the fishermen were enthusiastic about the release.

She hoped that with the establishment of TCC in Penarik, a rural area in Setiu, the relationship between researchers, fishermen and egg collectors would be enhanced.

A good working relationship was essential to saving the terrapins, she added.

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