I have just returned from Chagar Hutang after an absence of more than 2 months. The days spent (28 Sept – 2 Oct 2008) were action-packed, as always.
The first thing I attended to were the two remaining green turtles left over from the release event “Turtles take flight” in July 10th. We had to withhold the release of five of the 12 turtles returned by Aquaria KLCC as they were suffering from rectal rot. The rot was the result of other turtles biting the tail and anal area due to over-crowding conditions. The turtles had healed under our care and Soleha had released three of them. I was glad to observe that the sores of the two turtles left had also healed. Good job, Soleha. One of them was ready for release while the smaller was suffering from a flotation problem due to gas build-up in the alimentary canal. It was also having problems defecating as the anal sphincter had been chewed off. We had to physically remove the occluded feces with the aid of a pair of blunt forceps. In the course of the next three days, we had removed many prawn claws, small bits of stone, 2 sizable pieces of dead coral and a lot of cucumber seeds and other vegetable matter. It was a convenient coincidence that the attending volunteers were final year medical students from University Malaya.
The turtle (tag numbers 1829 and 1830) was released on 1st October 2008, i.e. the first day of Hari Raya. We harnessed it and were able to swim with it for a while and observe its behaviour. It initially dived to the bottom and seemed to explore the surroundings before surfacing for air. When surfacing, it did not swim away from us, and did not seem scared off by our presence. All of us except Neo were back in the boat when we finally released it from the harness and set it free. These two pictures were provided by Elaine Tan, volunteer from Slot ZA.
Our problems with native army ants invading nests have become severe. Everyday, as a result of beach patrols by volunteers or nest checks, about 5 to 8 nests are discovered to have been attacked. I believe that many go undetected. Here you can see the gory site of dead hatchlings when an ant-infested nest is excavated.
The total number of nests deposited in September is 44, bringing the total nesting number to 588.
The wildlife in Chagar Hutang seemed to have put up a parade for me this time. This crab crawled into the dining and kitchen area when I was having supper with Man. It was quite big, with its shell width of about 5 inches. I have yet to identify it.
I have not seen a hermit crab as big as this one. It was literally falling out of its shell. Strange that it appeared when we were preparing breakfast. Usually hermit crabs are active by night.
This monitor lizard was seen lurking around our hatchlings. I managed to make a video recording of it. I saw groups of monkeys on the beach and one family came close to our clothesline. I hope they will not intrude into our quarters. Two mouse deer skitted across the jungle path when we were preparing dinner. And as our boat approached Turtle Rock on the way home, one sea eagle was seen resting on a low rock. Quite an unusual treat as the eagles perch quite high. The wild ginger plants in the forest are blooming profusely right now.
There were some hatchlings that we managed to save from an early detection of ant infestation. Note that the opening where the yolk sac has been resorbed is still quite large. Such hatchlings will have to be kept in the dark one or two days before release.
The volunteers were kept busy sculpting signboards under the supervision of Gary and Harry. The boys will have to finish the job painting them. What a treat we had when our workers brought Hari Raya food from the village. Most were trying sambal, serunding and nasi dagang for the first time and found the food delicious.
I should also mention that we excavated the remains of a juvenile green turtle that our workers found stranded in Chagar Hutang in January 2008 when they started the monitoring work on the beach. The specimen was so well decomposed that the skull bones had completely separated.
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