Turtle Rescue

Once upon a time in the crystal-blue waters surrounding the palm-fringed Perhentian Islands, there lived a strikingly beautiful Green Sea Turtle.

That is until she was hit by a boat propeller and her shell was cracked open.

The story starts on a stormy night in March 2010. The staff were situated at the front of the dive shop, enjoying a cold can of Tiger, when a distressed young Chinese girl rushed in, white dress billowing in the wind. She hurriedly alerted us about a Turtle in trouble. We swiftly ran through the adjacent resort and sure enough; saw a turtle with its bottom end protruding prominently above the surface. Without hesitation three of us grabbed floats, torches, masks and fins and headed out to help her. We initially suspected that she was entangled in a fishing wire or net.

We approached her cautiously all the while looking for signs of entanglement. We could find none. We shone the torch upon her and then we saw it; a vicious gash in the back of her shell.

With the waves crashing around and us trying to coax her, I have to admit we were at a loss what to do. In the dark and stormy weather, boats were not an option. She still had the strength to swim, something which we were encouraged by. Following her into the shipping lane, the boys realized their attempt was futile. We all went to bed that night dejected and praying she would survive the storm.

Next morning, at P.R. Segrams for breakfast we were discussing the turtle when Shaky, one of our DMT’s pointed out to the sea, was it a piece of wood or our turtle? The same two from the previous day, Tony and Terence rushed out to try and desperately help her. Others emptied and cleaned the Fin bucket for her to be placed in and some tried to contact the authorities for help. She was so weak she didn’t even struggle. With the Perhentian Islands falling under the jurisdiction of a marine park that visitors pay to enter, we were confident of their response and assistance.

Initial round of calls was at 8am. First to answer, was a dive school with a turtle sanctuary – our turtle was too big for them, though they did offer some advice about how to calm her – keep her in water, not too deep so she can still breath, keep her in the shade and keep her head covered. They also provided us with the Marine Police number. We tried them but to no response. Later we got through and alerted them, breathing a sigh of relief.

We decided to try Reef Check. Finally we got some help! Daniel Lee from the organisation called back within the hour asking for photographs, measurements and a through account of how we found her – Yes! It wasn’t even an hour later that we had a hypothesis from Professor Chan about her suspected illness and prognosis. The wound was healing, but air was trapped in her digestive system which was keeping her afloat and preventing her from feeding, her weakness was an indication of this starvation- a common problem in wild turtles. As divers we could see the problem with this, like trying to dive with your BCD inflator button jammed in and no way to release the air. Treatment was carbon pills, rest and rehab. The professor himself commented we were probably her best hope but with no knowledge, facilities, or medicine and with the locals growing agitated at our involvement, leaving her in the shop just didn’t seem a viable option. Sad state of affairs that we were deemed a better option that the official authorities, a group of divers who weren’t even confident as to what she could eat.

By about four, we had resigned ourselves to the fact that no one was coming. The new question was whether to return her to the ocean knowing she could not survive for long, or to try and keep her overnight and hope that someone would come the next day to help her. The question was soon answered for us. The locals arrived and demanded she be returned to the sea, they seemed dubious she needed medication and wanted her to be released into the bay. It turned into a battle of wills over her, with the locals trying to pull the bucket out to sea and the children trying to touch her face and fins. Erica and I stood our ground and refused to let them take her. Luckily our boat boys returned and explained the situation in Bahasa, buying us some time. Clearly we couldn’t leave her in the shop over night. We had to act fast.

Delicately carrying her and her make-shift home up the pier, we slowly drove her to the Marine Park headquarters. On arrival we noticed their boat was moored and no one was in. Eventually they came; the relief at seeing their uniforms emblazed with ‘Marine Park Police’ was short-lived. They had no antibiotics or carbon pills on hand and seemed dubious she could survive. They seemed to regard us as eccentric tourists, which perhaps in their culture is what we are.

They agreed to take her and sorted her out a new bucket. One of the most pitiful images of the whole saga was her trying to desperately swim, wildly fining mid air whilst being transferred. We were dismissed and with great and heavy reluctance we left her there.

In practice, I hope we did the right thing. We couldn’t leave her floating and starving in the bay that twenty-five speed boats operate from, nor could we leave her in a bucket starving under the jetty. We had reported her to the authorities to no avail, calling for help throughout the day. The only help that day had come from Reef Check in Kuala Lumpur. As divers we believe turtles to be graceful animals of beauty, a wonder to see and something to fiercely protect. We acted in good faith but were at a complete loss when no help arrived.

Turtles are a diminishing resource and with the development of the Perhentian Islands something needs to be done to save them from extinction. We have already lost over 90% of their numbers. On the Perhentians even their eggs are regularly poached from their nesting sites, sometimes even before they have buried them. Poachers then send them off to the market where their eggs are made into high cholesterol omelettes. With no help being provided for the turtles which we as a society injure or eat, their fate looks dire and extinction seems a real and possible threat.

We all felt very despondent the following day.

Around midday someone finally came, a man called Jimi. He had heard of our turtle’s plight and had come as soon as possible from Kuala Lumpur to the Perhentians with the sole aim of helping her. We had never received the message. Sadly we told him the turtle was no longer with us. He suggested she would have been transported to the mainland, but our boat boys later admitted the Marine Park officals had told them in Malay she would be released back into the sea post our departure. This is where she was spotted yesterday, floating on the waters surface off a beach near the Marine Park offices. Another rescue mission is being started, this time led by HOPE.

Jimi explained to us some of the problems that face turtles, namely the lack of education surrounding them with local people and about the lack of communication between the departments. Jimi also told of us the charity he and his colleagues are trying to set up in Malaysia, something that is so so clearly needed, ‘Help our Penyu’ the Bahasa Malay word for turtle, or simply ‘HOPE’. After our experience here, it seems such a worthwhile cause.

Although I can not say for sure that our Turtle met a happy ending, at least I do hope that something can be learnt from those involved and those reading this. If we act now and help support environmentally minded people like those at HOPE and Project Aware through donations and purchasing their products, maybe, just maybe we can start saving those animals that need our help so they are still here to amaze future generations.

We as a society need to protect the ocean and the precious things that dwell there. With modern development, accidents to marine animals are certain to occur and re-occur. Responsibility needs to be taken as to how we can help them recover and survive. Our presence degrades the oceans reefs and marine life. Currently there is no balance. We take and take and only a selected few are prepared to give back. Something needs to change and it needs to start on our doorsteps. We all have a responsibility to help those more vulnerable to us, especially if it is our doing, directly or indirectly that is the cause of their suffering.

Rachel Cassidy

Special thanks to:

• Daniel Lee and Professor Chan at Reef Check
• Wan Ahmad Azimi Bin Wan Azmin from HOPE and his colleagues.
• Tony Farmer and Terence Evitt for their quick actions and careful removal of the Turtle from the water.
• Erica Baxter, Jason Shakespeare, Tobias Gustafsson and Hien Le, for helping to move her, keep her watered and protected.

For more information and to make donations – or buy a funky turtle T-shirt, please have a look at the following websites:

• www.helpourpenyu.com
• www.funkydivers.com
• www.projectaware.com