Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Our Leatherback Turtle is back !

My turtle and her eggs


With a little play and storytelling I told the children gathered at the PJ library, the story of One Tiny Turtle. Wasn't I delighted when some days later, I read in the papers that a leatherback - the largest of the sea turtles- has made a surprise return to Rantau Abang beach after 32 years. Conservationists call it a 'miracle' for the endangered species . With renewed hopes, we welcome our rare turtle back to our Trengganu shores 'coz we nearly whacked it away for eternity due to poaching, pollution and overfishing. Seriously, numbers dwindled from up to 10,000 female turtles in 1950s to only 5 nests from 2 turtles without any hatchlings emerging in 2006. We have sadly 'over-fished' in our own waters, so to speak .

Happily this reptilian giant turtle dubbed the 'Puteri Rantau Abang' or Rantau Abang Princess was released back into the sea carrying a satellite transmitter which will help conservationists track turtle migration patterns. So long, 'princess'. Till you return to Rantau Abang.





Nicola Davies' One Tiny Turtle, illustrated by Jane Chapman is an absolute gem. The text scores highly as it makes nature facts so alive and interesting. The illustrations paint the undersea world of the loggerhead turtle from a tiny turtle to adult so beautifully. Every child will want to discover more and be in wonder of the turtle.

The story goes on - turtle leaves for the seas again, eggs hatch in the warm sand, hatchlings wriggle out of the shells and head towards the sea, predators lurk above and below. Only one makes its way to safely to the ocean. Here's a text of the struggle :

In the dark, claws and beaks and grabbing paws miss just one young turtle. One day, she'll remember this beach and come back. But now she dives under the waves and swims. SWims and swims! Out into the arms of the ocean. Far, far out to sea, land becoms a memory waiting to wake in the head of the little turtle.' - One Tiny Turtle


Cover of the book One Tiny Turtle


It has been many years since my family last saw the leatherback turtle laying eggs. We waited in our car in the dark at Rantau Abang. An excited voice rang out calling for tourists like us to follow him. I remember holding our children's hands, stumbling in the sand, heading towards the nesting beach and following the dim light of the torchlight. It certainly felt like a night adventure, full of high expectations.

The guide signalled us to be quiet. Turtles are very sensitive to light and noise. There was a hushed silence as we stopped a distance away from our very important visitor. In the cool night breeze, the huge blackish, reptilian mound was already busy digging away the sand, making a hole deep and steep enough to deposit her eggs. How can I forget the egg laying? Never! It was an esctatic feeling to see the ping pong size eggs go 'plop, plop, plop, one by one. Amazingly white and glistening under the moonlight. When it was all over, the huge flippers swung and swept the sand to cover the precious eggs from predators.

With the young captive audience, I took the opportunity to be the big turtle. I 'reprised' the role of the turtle. All of them have not seen a turtle laying eggs nor have they heard about our very own leatherback turtles. My legs and arms were the hind and fore flippers. The children were amused and played along when I dropped the eggs! - so many and each time one dropped, they shouted 'plop!'.

It was a rewarding session. There was an air of excitement too as the kids drew turtles . We even walked like turtles in a song 'I'm just a baby turtle'! Kids wanna have fun as they learn - facts become so digestible! Lastly to the sounds of their laughter, as they headed for home, they were asked to find out more about the varieties of turtles we have that nest on our beaches - hawksbill , olive ridley , green and of course, the giant of them all, the leatherbacks.







Our turtles, our heritage



22 comments:

  1. it's nice to know that more and more people are aware of the importance of their survival. even here in the philippines we are already having some actions to save those turtles. nice to know that the same thing is being considered in your country.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a great story! So full of hope and the importance of all God's creatures. Thank you for the great book suggestion, too. I can just picture you all acting out the scene with mother turtle laying eggs. How wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Keats, You blogging about turtle too. So much fun for the kids while learning. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love this post- I am so glad they came back- It is a miracle.
    The cover of the book is so cute too!

    Thank you for sharing this!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've been to the East Coast so many times but yet to have an opportunity to catch the likes of a leatherback laying eggs on our shores. Only managed to see it on National Geographics.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm so happy to know that the great leatherbacks are coming back to Malaysia. I have never seen a real one. I knew of their plight from a WWF talk at secondary school. Only get to see these giant turtles from TV. I really hope that they will not go extinct. Great job on the storytelling, Keats!

    ReplyDelete
  7. For some strange reason, the photo of the baby turtle on the cover of the book made me feel like crying. The turtle looks so fragile and helpless.

    I too was thrilled to read the news that a Leatherback Turtle came back to nest on our shores. I hope to goodness that we are worthy of her. Let's make ourselves worthy of them. We've taken our endangered species for granted for too long. My parents remember turtle-watching in Terengganu when the whole place was simply famous for turtle nestings and sightings. You've started the ball rolling by educating the younger generation. On behalf of all wildlife, We Thank You. Now I must see what I can do too to help make our shores safer and better for our turtle friends.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've never been lucky enough to see a leatherback turtle up close. But I'm really glad to know they're back. How wonderful of you to post this.

    Have a nice day, Keats!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I loved this post...and all the info you shared. The kids must have had a fun time!

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is great, positive news!
    Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Keats! Lovely post!!

    Sorry for the rush!! I’ll be off for my official week holiday but Blogtrotter Two will be showing you the road to a wonderful setting: Costa Smeralda!! Enjoy, leave your comments and have a great weekend and week ahead!

    ReplyDelete
  12. hello from canada! ...and thanks for your visit.
    its so cute that your turtle came back. a good sign i think
    ~laura

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love turtles. Great pictures, and a good lesson for the children.

    ReplyDelete
  14. It's wonderful that the leather-black turtle is back, and it's great to see people are more aware of our environment!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wonderful and such a sweet story..

    ReplyDelete
  16. What an interesting post. I bet I was as engulfed with the tale as the kids were.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I am so happy you have them back. There is hope for their survival I am sure. Great post.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Just reading your post felt like magic. What a wonderful experience for kids. The paragraph quote is beautifully written. I'm sure that the whole book is a true gem. Have a wonderful week, dear :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Another wonderful post. We must teach our children well so they can grow up and help save the environment. Mother Earth is our home and the creatures that inhibit it are part of a fragile tapestry that make up our world. We must handle that tapestry gently.

    ReplyDelete

Great to have you popping in!