I feel it is necessary to announce this as I know the TRRG website is being followed by many visitors. Pelf and I will also no longer post blogs there as we will be busy setting up and blogging :) in our new website for the Turtle Conservation Centre under which we will continue to carry out our projects to save turtles.

However, we think that the TRRG website should not be deleted and all the wonderful things that have happened to the TRRG and SEATRU in the past be forgotten in the mist of time. We will appeal to the UMT Information Technology Centre to keep this website in the UMT server. Although we will not post blogs, there are some relevant retrospective materials that I would like to display here (when I find the time to do so) for posterity.

I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful people who have helped to make our journey in the TRRG and SEATRU such an amazing and unforgettable one – volunteers, sponsors, supporters, friends, well-wishers, visitors, readers, family, colleagues, staff who have served us in the last 17 years, the media, our employer (UPM, UPMT, KUT, KUSTEM, UMT) and all others who have touched or been touched by the work we have done…

I conclude by wishing our successors the best in what they chose to do with/in the TRRG.

E.H. Chan

I will not be attached with any turtle-related projects carried out by the Turtle Research and Rehabilitation Group (TRRG) of UMT, with immediate effect.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you — volunteers, donors, visitors, friends and readers — who have given me your co-operation throughout the duration of my tenure as a Research and Outreach Officer of the TRRG.

To me, the past 10 months had been an eye-opening experience, and I truly appreciate the offer given to me by Prof. Chan. Without Prof. Chan, I would not be where I am, I would not be who I am, and I would not be as skillful and experienced as I am today :) Thanks, Prof. Chan, for giving me the golden opportunity, and for your never-ending guidance.

I would also like to apologize to you if I have, in any way, shape or form, done anything that made you feel uncomfortable. I am a strict person by nature, but I promise you I will learn to soften up a little, like some of you have suggested :)

Goodbye, my turtle lover friends, and may our paths cross again in the future.

Take care,
Pelf
16 July 2009

After about an hour, we managed to recover 73 hatchlings from the all the nests. We then brought all the hatchlings back to the hatchery on campus and we marked, weighed and measured all of them. These hatchlings will be raised on campus for their release, hopefully 3 years later.

Photo credit: Fong

First, a little about WTD. It was initiated in 2000 by the American Tortoise Rescue. The group brings attention to turtle conservation issues and highlights ways each of us can help protect these gentle but jeopardized animals. You can click here for suggested actions you can take to honor these fascinating creatures.

The six basic ways to help save turtles are beautifully depicted in our new volunteer T-shirts designed by I-Sin, a young and talented fresh graduate in interface design who participated in our Turtle Camps when she was 10 years old. She is also the niece of Chang Fee Ming whose watercolour rendition of a green turtle graces our homepage.

I find it ironic that on this day I have to announce that I will be retiring from the university, with effect from tomorrow, 24 May 2009. I will no longer manage the marine turtle conservation project at Chagar Hutang as my bosses have decided to let younger staff handle it. I leave Chagar Hutang with no regrets and I am really pleased that it is what it is today – a haven for nesting green and hawksbill turtles that is recognised as a world class turtle sanctuary. I am sure the new managers will bring Chagar Hutang to even greater heights and I wish them all the very best.

I am planning to develop an independent Turtle Institute at the Penarik area in northern Terengganu and hope to put all my energy into making it a world class centre for freshwater turtle work.

I will conclude by posting some pictures taken during my latest trips to Chagar Hutang.

Cherishing moments in Chagar Hutang with Mahadi and Man. These two have seen me struggle over the years to bring Chagar Hutang to what it is today. We were interviewed by Cik Rabil Sitta from the UMT Press on 24 April 2009.

With Meike (far left) who was with us for 2 weeks in May 2009 to help coordinate volunteer activities. Finally, I was able to bring my friend and collaborator, Dr Gerald Kuchling and his wife Guundie to Chagar Hutang. Gerald is world renowned for his work on reproduction of freshwater turtles. He is currently working with me on the reproductive aspects of river terrapins in Malaysia. Guundie is also well-known as an artist and author.

Goodbye, Chagar Hutang, the beach most visited by me in the last 17 years and to which I have given some of the best years of my life.

This year, we have asked the villagers to send the post-nesting terrpains to Rani’s place so that we can microchip, weigh and measure them. We pay RM10 for each terrapin processed. The 10 terrapins processed weigh between 24 – 29.5 kg, and ranging from 52 – 57 cm in straight carapace length.

hookhook1hook2The last post-nesting terrapin we processed had a fish hook sticking out by the side of its neck. We were perturbed when we recieved the news. I had thought that half the hook was protruding from the neck while the other half was lodged in the throat. Fortunately, it came off quite easily when I pulled it out gently with a pair of pliers.

Fishermen from Setiu have delivered 18 river terrapins and 25 painted terrapins to us since the end of January 2009. These terrapins were caught either by hooks, or driftnets. Some were hand-caught near the fish cages at Beris. All the river terrapins, except one large individual were those released by us during our Terrapin Independence Days, as indicated by the presence of a microchip in each one of them . We recovered individuals released in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008. Weight gains were registered in all of of them, with those released in 2005 gaining 2.6 to 3.7 kg.

The painted terrapins caught ranged from 600 g to 17.4 kg and straight carapace lengths were from 16 – 55 cm. All the painted terrapins looked healthy and robust. We have decided to microchip the painted terrapins as well before we released them back to the river.