Adopt a Turtle

Turtles have been coming to the shores of the East Coast of West Malaysia for years to lay their eggs. There was a time when many of these eggs never had the opportunity to hatch as poachers would dig them up for turtle eggs were a delicacy.

At the Turtle Sanctuary in Cherating, Pahang, Tuan Haji Abdul Karim, the caretaker, has dedicated himself to the task of saving these turtle eggs. Once the turtle eggs are laid and the mother turtle has left the nesting site, Tuan Haji Abdul Karim’s team will dig up the eggs and bury them again in a fenced up hatchery to protect the eggs and the hatchlings which are too fragile to survive the perils of the sea. The hatchlings will live at the Sanctuary for at least 5 months until they are larger and stronger. This effort is in the hope that the hatchlings will have a better chance of survival. 

The Lions of Indera Mahkota and Kuantan City have, in a joint cause for the environment, adopted 30 baby turtles in our effort to help save the endangered species. The cost of adopting 30 baby turtles is Ringgit Malaysia Six Hundred (RM600.00) only which will be used to purchase food for the babies over a period of 5 months. At the end of that period of time, the babies will be released back into the sea. 

The Members of the Lions Club of Indera Mahkota and the Lions Club of Kuantan City together with our families and Members of the Leo Club of Kuantan City as well as four youth exchange students from Belgium, Italy and Japan met up at the Turtle Sanctuary in Cherating, Pahang at 10.00am on 25th July 2010. Tuan Haji Abdul Karim was on hand to meet us and the event began with the screening of a video documentary on turtles. Thereafter, we were allowed to wander around the Sanctuary and to our delight were able to see several hawksbill turtles (eretmochelys imbricata) swimming around the ponds in the Sanctuary. The hatchery appeared to be very full with eggs from turtles which had landed on our shores recently. This event is our effort to help preserve a precious part of the eco-system and has also helped to create awareness amongst our youth to contribute and do their part to ensure the survival of such a beautiful creature. 

We ended the day’s events with a fellowship pot luck branch for the Members of the 2 clubs cum a welcoming party for the youth exchange students who had arrived in Kuantan on 24th July 2010. There was a lot of food and plenty of cheer. The youth exchange students were pleasantly introduced to some local cuisine. The party dispersed at around 12.30pm.