Published on: Friday, December 11, 2020
By: FMT
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A visitor receiving an adoption certificate from Sabah Parks assistant research officer Barry Richard Yamie (left).
Kota Kinabalu: The Covid-19 pandemic has taken a huge toll on many lives – even that of the turtles of the Sabah Parks.
The turtle nest adoption programme has seen a fall in participation, from 650 last year to just 120 until the end of September this year. The number of adoptions had been increasing from 103 nests at the launching of the programme in 2016.
Many of those who “adopted” the nests have been tourists who have visited Turtle Islands Park, about 40km from the east coast district of Sandakan where endangered Hawksbill and Green turtles land almost every night to lay their eggs at Pulau Selingan, Bakungan Kechil and Gulisan.