Sea Turtles

These ancient marine reptiles have existed on Earth for over a 100 million years. Sea turtles are marine reptiles that are found in tropical and subtropical seas in the world. There are a total of seven species of extant marine turtles. There four sea turtles which have been found in Malaysia are; green turtles (Chelonia mydas), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea).

Sea turtles are well-adapted to the ocean. They will travel through long distances to feed, and come to the beach to nest. The beaches of Pulau Kapas are among the many nesting beaches of sea turtles in Malaysia, primarily the green sea turtles. Each of the different species of sea turtles have a different diet.

The green turtles prefer to feed on seagrasses while the hawksbill, leatherback and olive ridley prefers invertebrates or soft-bodied organisms. Sea turtles spend some time on land, where the time spent is affected by a few factors such as the reproductive readiness of the turtle, density of nesters, compactness of sand, and nesting experience of the turtle. The nests of the sea turtles are incubated to avoid predation. During incubation, sex of the sea turtles can be affected by temperature.

Sea turtles were among the many marine vertebrates under threat, where its populations in many regions are decreasing due to anthropogenic effects to the ecosystem. Egg exploitation, illegal trade, entanglement in fishing gears and coastal development are among the many treats to sea turtles. In 2021, almost 5000 hatchlings were saved and released into the sea here in Pulau Kapas! Learn more about sea turtles conservation at KapasTurtles.com.

Photo credit: Green Sea Turtle by Christophe Wauters