PETALING JAYA: When Chen Pelf Nyok first heard of the declining river terrapin populations from human activity in local rivers in 2004, she knew that something had to be done to save them from extinction.
Her undying love for the reptiles led her to uncover the brutal reality faced by southern river terrapins in the Kemaman river whose eggs were relentlessly poached by local villagers to be sold and eaten as food.
In addition, countless adult terrapins would drown in the river after getting caught in fishing nets haphazardly placed around Terengganu’s third largest river.
Terrapin guardians: Noratiqah showing a terrapin-themed batikcloth she sewed.
Sand mining activities along the river banks also destroyed the few nesting banks with sand suitable for female terrapins to lay eggs in, causing a significant decline in the local population.
“It was a devastating destruction of their population as the few hatchlings that were not poached as eggs end up dying before they can reach their mature age to mate at 20 years old.
“Many also die long before their estimated lifespan of up to 100 years old where they can grow up to 60cm long and weigh 35kg,” she said.
The southern river terrapins are currently labelled critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
A TCS volunteer cleaning and caring for captive terrapins at the society’s in-house pond in Kg Pasir Gajah.
To overcome this, the marine biologist co-founded the Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia (TCS) in 2011 which established its River Terrapin Conservation Centre in the nearby village of Kampung Pasir Gajah.
Operating from the village’s community hall, the centre’s efforts over the last 13 years have seen the incubation and release of over 5,000 baby terrapins back into the nearby Kemaman river ecosystem.
“River terrapins are amazing seed dispersers as they feed on mangrove fruits and when they defecate, they ‘plant’ mangrove trees along the river.
“They also help keep the river clean by feeding on dead animal material like dead snails while their eggs provide a source of food and protein to other wildlife in a balanced ecosystem,” the 43-year-old said.
Chen said only 235 adult river terrapins are estimated to be living in the river currently since she and her small team of six full-time staff began tracking their populations in 2011.
In addition to conducting terrapin research and conservation projects, TCS also host educational and public awareness programmes for local rural students.
TCS has also helped empower locals to turn away from terrapin harming activities by providing them jobs and stable income through work with the society.
One such job is the “Terrapin Guardians”, lovingly referred to locally as “Geng Tuntung”, which comprises many local former terrapin egg poachers and fishermen from the village.
These “guardians” will work to collect the eggs laid during the terrapin’s single breeding season, from January to March every year, for safe incubation back at the centre.
Saving the turtles: Chen (left) with members of TCS taking a closer look at one of the river terrapins found along the Kemaman river in Terengganu. — MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star
“The guardians consisted of six members initially in 2011 but has since grown to 14 dedicated individuals, thanks to local engagement efforts by our field manager Wang Kang Lung.
“Every February to March, the team will wait by the banks of five nesting areas along the river for female terrapins to climb to shore and lay their eggs before collecting them for safe incubation.
“Once a female is finished laying her eggs, the team will capture her to record measurements and tag her with an ID microchip,” she said.
Former fisherman Wan Mokhtar Wan Mohamed joined the team in 2014 and has not looked back since.
“When I learned of the conservation efforts and the terrapins’ critical endangered status, I decided to help.
“I want my grandchildren to be able to see terrapins in the wild in the future,” he said, adding that he also gets a steady income from TCS.
The terrapin eggs are then incubated at the centre’s hatchery where they are protected from both poaching and natural predators like ants, monitor lizards and crocodiles.
The hatchlings then begin to emerge two to three months later where they are tenderly cared for in the centre’s pond for another few months before being released into the Kemaman river, which is held annually during the first Saturday of every October.
Deemed “Terrapin Indepen-dence Day” by locals and centre staff, the little terrapins are released by hand, by both centre staff and event visitors or volunteers, one by one as they scuttle into the river.
A small carnival is also held at the centre on the same day with various free recreational and educational activities for attendees and villagers to take part in.
The overall programme, called the Kemaman River Terrapin Conservation project, saw significant success this year as Terrapin Guardians collected a record number of over 1,500 eggs from over 10 nesting banks.
Of these eggs, 1,176 were successfully hatched, raised then released, marking an all-time high 78.5% successful incubation rate since the project was founded in 2011.
These also include eggs of the similarly IUCN-labeled critically endangered but smaller painted terrapins which are also native to the Kemaman river.
The guardians also hold daily patrols of the river for fishing nets to rescue trapped terrapins along a 30km stretch from the riverbank at the village.
Local women have also been empowered since 2019 through TCS’s creative sewing programme, in which they pay local women to sew terrapin-themed batik merchandise that is then sold to visitors and online.
One such beneficiary is Noratiqah Azemi, who said working with TCS has indirectly saved her life since joining the programme in 2018.
“Our family used to live in the lower village area near the river which frequently flooded during monsoon season.
“We could not do much about it since we used to be entirely dependent on my husband’s unstable salary.
“But thanks to my monthly income from TCS, we were finally able to afford a move to the higher elevated part of the village in March, away from the river,” said the mother of four, adding that she can earn up to RM3,000 a month if sales are good.
Chen said she hopes to one day expand TCS’s operations to locate populations of other critically endangered local terrapins like the Malaysian Giant Turtle and set up similar conservation centres on site.
“We currently lack the manpower and funding to conduct such surveys of our own to find possible concentrated terrapin populations.
“This is why recognition like the Star Golden Hearts Award (SGHA) is essential for us to not only spread more awareness towards river terrapin conservation but also funding for other projects,” she added.
For their noble efforts, TCS is named as one of the 10 winners of the SGHA 2024.
SGHA is an annual award by The Star that honours everyday Malaysian unsung heroes.
For more details, visit sgha.com.my.
