Initially,
Malaysia's Turtle
Islands National Park comprised three small islands, Pulau Selingan, Pulau Bakungan Kecil and Pulau Gulisan. The islands are
small, Pulau Selingan is just 20 acres. Three years ago, the park
was linked with six nearby Philippine islands to become the Turtle
Islands Heritage Protected Area, the world's first marine turtle
conservation area straddling national boundaries.
The park now
comprises an area of 1,749 hectares including the surrounding
coral reefs and sea.
During the peak summer months,
instinct drives the turtles to converge in the shallow
waters of the island of their birth, and the males compete for breeding dominance.
Year-round, and especially from July to October, thousands of
female turtles heave themselves up onto the beaches of these nine
islands to lay their eggs under cover of darkness. After
removal and incubation directed by locals, the young sea
turtles are released to the ocean. |