Turtle Hatchling Release

Turtle hatchling release is always the most exciting and anticipating event for the guests and us as the babies can finally be set free to the sea! Since the hatchling release does not occur on a regular basis, the announcement of holding a release will only be made on the day itself, depending on the condition of the hatchlings.

How do we know if the baby turtles can be released? The answer is the size of the yolk sac. All the baby turtles have a prominent yolk sac attached at their abdomen, which serves as the energy supply during the early life phase before foraging in the sea independently. Upon hatching, the baby turtles still have a protruding yolk sac. The yolk sac will be getting smaller due to consumption of reserved energy by the babies from day to day. Meanwhile, carapace (shell) straightening happens along with yolk internalization (the shell is still curved when they’re just hatched). Hence, when the yolk sac is flatenned and the shell is straightened, the turtle babies are ready to be released!

It is exciting to witness and experience the magical moment of releasing the baby turtles to the sea, but it is also important to do it right! There is a Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) established and practiced by Turtle Lab and the guests have to strictly follow it. Before the release, a brief talk will be given by us regarding the sea turtle conservation at Redang Island and the “Dos and Don’ts” throughout the release event.

Turtle hatchling release will be hold either early in the morning or in the late evening, but not at night because there is a risk of baby turtle being stepped due to darkness and baby turtles might be disoriented due to distraction from the lights on shore. Therefore, we always hold the release in the late evening, which is at 6.45PM at the beach of the resort. Besides that, a boundary will be set as the release zone and all people have to stand beyond the boundary.

We also aim to instil the mindset of “no touching and harassing marine wildlife such as sea turtles” among the public. Hence, rather than holding the baby turtles with bare hand, a container is prepared for the guests to retain the baby turtles instead in order to avoid human contact. Whereas, Dira, Balqis and I will be wearing gloves when transferring the baby turtles into the containers.

After the release, some guests will approach us to say thank you and ask us few questions. One of the frequently asked questions is, “How many of them can survive?”. Our answer is, “It depends on their fate. On a global scale, it is estimated that 1 out of  1000 can survive to adulthood” and everyone is shocked of this fact! Knowing the survival rate of 1:1000, we still pray for the baby turtles and wish them a safe journey in the ocean.

Although it needs a lot of preparation and work to be done before, during and after the release, I still love holding a turtle hatchling release with the guests. The fulfillment of witnessing the little one heading towards sea without fear of uncertainty is indescribable and I am pleased to share the joy with the guests!