Endangered Sea Turtles: Good News

Dylan, an endangered loggerhead sea turtle was released back to the wild after ten years in captivity. Malaysian conservation groups work to stop sea turtle egg poaching.

Last fall I wrote about Dylan, a loggerhead sea turtle found as a hatchling on Jekyll Island off of Georgia. Originally taken to the Georgia Aquarium, she was being transferred to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, which had recently opened on the island. The plan was to release her back to the wild.

And that has now happened. Dylan was released on June 30th wearing a satellite transmitter. Now nine years old, Dylan is expected to stay at sea for another 20 years before returning to Jekyll Island to lay eggs.

To follow Dylan’s progress visit Seaturtle.org. You can learn more about several sea turtle tracking projects there and even adopt one of the endangered sea turtles to help support the program.

In Malaysia a campaign is underway to end a tradition. The Turtle Research and Rehabilitation Group is asking people to Say No to Turtle and Terrapin Eggs. Malaysians are asked to sign a pledge that they will not eat turtle eggs for the rest of their lives.

Beyond the obvious hope of ending sea turtle nest poaching in the country, the campaign helps raise awareness of the plight of the four species of sea turtles found on Malaysia’s beaches. Which will hopefully pave the way for other actions such as managing coastal development and controlling local fisheries which are also needed if endangered sea turtle are to survive.