Cherating Turtle Sanctuary

Malaysian shores particularly the east coast are well known for turtle landings. Facing the South China Sea, the east coast stretch sees  four main species of turtles returning to lay their eggs. They are the Green Turtle, Hawkbill, Leatherback and Olive Ridley. Sadly, in the last decade the Leatherback Turtle was rarely seen.

Cherating Turtle Sanctuary

In 1972,  a turtle hatchery centre was set up in the effort to protect these endangered species. Managed by the Fisheries Department, it was only in mid 1998 the centre was open to public. Located at Chendor Beach, the centre is now known as Cherating Turtle Sanctuary and Information Centre and it can be found next to Asia’s first Club Med in Cherating,Pahang.

Turtle Hatchery

Pantai Chendor is one of the five major turtle landings in the state of Pahang and if you are a turtle lover and would like to contribute in the conservation effort, the Cherating Turtle Sanctuary offers an opportunity to the public to ‘Donate and Release’.

For RM 5 donation per hatchling, you can help to release newly hatched baby turtles to the sea.

Our son ready to release a baby green turtle

In our effort to teach our children the importance of protecting our nature and its inhabitants, we took the opportunity to release 20 baby green turtles.

We were taught the correct way to hold a baby turtle and was told to release them 2 feet away from the sea. Our children named all 20 of them. We lost track of the names after releasing Lucky, Happy, Hope and Princess.

When handling a baby turtle, don’t grip them too tight though they do tend to wriggle their way out.

With a tinge of sadness, we watched the baby turtles raced to the open sea. Wondering about their fate, we hope that they will survive and return to this very shore in about 15 years time to lay their eggs.

An important note to remember. If you are interested to participate in releasing the hatchlings, please call the centre in advance to confirm their availability.

I think this one was Lucky… or was it Hope?

Landing season is between April till September and the turtles usually land at night and return to sea before sunrise. Cherating Turtle Sanctuary also provides camping ground and facilities for those who wish to camp out and try their luck to watch the landings.

Want to know more?

Cherating Turtle Sanctuary Address: Turtle Sanctuary & Information Center 26050 Balok, Cherating, Kuantan, Pahang. Contact No. : (6) 09-581 9087

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