Pulau Selingan (Turtle Island)

Standing in the dark near the Malaysia/Philippines border, we watched as one, two, three…seventy little eggs and their embryos plopped from a mother turtle into a hole. Well, we didn’t quite watch all seventy but that was the total she deposited in the chamber that were later transferred to the island’s hatchery. Watching the turtle lay eggs was an incredible experience that I would recommend. She is said to be in a trance but I wondered if she knew we were there nonetheless.

 

Pulau Selingan

Island turtle hatchery

Pulau Selingan, once owned by the Philippines, hosts many mother turtles a year that come to nest. In 2014 there were 3,400 nestings. The eggs are transferred from the chamber created by the mother to the hatchery. This protects them from predators giving the Green turtles and Hawksbill turtles a greater chance of survival.

Island paradise

We arrived at the island early afternoon to some great weather. Our helpful (but somewhat superfluous) tour guide showed us around the small island. The police base next to our chalet seemed peculiar to us and our guide told us later they attended the egg layings to control the crowd. Following a short walk, lunch and a nap we went for a swim in the beautiful clear waters. The program for the day was free time! 

The island provided a great opportunity to simultaneously see a sunset in the west, a rainbow east and a brewing storm to the north. Our other entertainment was provided by Rob's attempts to open a coconut for about half an hour. He was successful just in time for us to munch as we waved a final goodbye to the sun. (Though we had oranges in our bag within easy reach, the coconut was much tastier.) 

 



Post-coconut antics success!

I, meanwhile, had spent some time running around in a circle near the waters edge.

Kat's beach run

After dinner we sat in suspense waiting to be told when a turtle had begun to lay. When a mother turtle lands she takes an hour or so to find a place and dig a chamber. The night before it hadn't been until midnight so we prepared for a long wait with cards and journals. The prospect of ice-cream soon became too much for us. I knew as soon as we bought them a turtle would start laying eggs. I was pretty spot on; just as we gobbled down the last bit of our sundae it was “turtle time”.

Turtle eggs

Mother turtle, recuperating after laying 70 eggs

We were lucky that we were part of a small group of ten on the island which meant a good view. One staff member carefully took the eggs from the turtle into a bucket. After she had finished laying the eggs, she filled in the hole whilst the staff checked her for a tag, measured her and wrote down any marks on her shell. Incredibly, mothers return to the island were they themselves hatched as babies many years ago. An informative video presentation and museum exhibition earlier in the night had taught us that after a baby turtle is strong enough to go into the sea, there are “lost years” where no one knows what happens to them. The female turtles then go 100’s of kilometres away from where they were born and use the earth’s magnetic fields to find their way back when it is time to lay their eggs.

After the mother laid her eggs we were shown the process of depositing the eggs in a hole in the hatchery. The eggs hatch after around 2 months. Since the temperature around the eggs influences whether they are male or female the hatchery is broken into two sections, one exposed to the sun (more likely to produce females) and one in shade (more likely to produce males). After the 2 months, the baby turtles tunnel up out of the hole and make their way to the surface.

Several baby turtles hatched that night and we released one group into the sea. They have a natural instinct to go to the sea and most were raring to go. We were encouraged to help the stragglers find the right direction. It wasn’t long before they had set out into the sea. It was a bit sad to know that some would not survive the open water.

Hatchlings rushing off to sea

Rob has previously been to the Solomon Islands and seen a similar process. It was interesting to compare the different practices. In the Sols there was no hatchery due to space and resource limitations.  Nests were left in place, but still protected from predators.  Perhaps this is an extension of the number of landings.  In the peak season Palau Selingan in Malaysia can have 85 nestings in a single night. 

It was a fantastic experience seeing both a mother turtle give birth and baby turtles take their first steps into the water. We had wondered if the practices would be humane prior to and during our visit. Though we are no experts, it seemed like the place is well run and with conservation purposes taking precedent over tourist ventures. 

Tips for getting there

The island is a one-hour boat trip from Sandakan jetty. Tours can be arranged in town and there are a limited number of people allowed to stay on the island overnight (25 rooms). As far as we could tell independent travel to the island is discouraged or perhaps not possible. Tours like this do not come cheap. This was something we really wanted to do and, courtesy of a generous Christmas present, we booked our tour with Sandakan Hotspot.

Costs (per person):

Return transfer, accommodation and all meals - RM650 per person

Camera fee - RM10

Snorkel/mask/fin hire – RM25