Resorts World Kijal’s Turtle Hatchery is an initiative by Resorts World Kijal to help boost the sea turtle’s population in the sea since two years ago.

Like I mentioned earlier in previous post in my Beautiful Terengganu series, Resorts World Kijal offers an unforgettable experience to get up close and personal with the ever elusive marine life; the sea turtles.

Resorts World Kijal has taken the initiative to ensure that guests who signed up the Turtle Watching Package get to experience turtle watching or turtle egg relocation at the hotel’s hatchery. It is part of their effort to spread awareness on sea turtle conservation effort and increase the population of sea turtles. We were lucky as we get to experience both during our 3D2N stay in Resorts World Kijal. We get to release turtle hatchlings to the sea and also did the turtle egg planting at Resorts World Kijal’s Turtle Hatchery on our last day there.

Turtle Eggs Relocation at Resorts World Kijal

Turtle Eggs Relocation at Resorts World Kijal. Sea turtles are one of the Earth’s most ancient creatures and can be found in all warm and temperate waters throughout the world. Most sea turtles undergo long migrations, some as far as 1400 miles, between their feeding grounds and the beaches where they nest. Sea turtles can be sighted in various beaches in Terengganu, Malaysia, and the private beaches along Resorts World Kijal is one of them.

Basically, the seven species that can be found today have been around for more than 100  million years, since the time of the dinosaurs and they are facing the threat of extinction and it is really difficult to find the population numbers for sea turtles because male and juvenile sea turtles do not return to shore once they hatch and reach the ocean. Only the female sea turtle will return to the same nesting grounds at which they were born and even then, that’s strictly for laying eggs purposes only.

When females come to the shore they dig out a nest in the ground with their back flippers, bury their clutch of eggs and return to the ocean.

The turtle eggs that have been collected here are planted in the sand and usually hatched in a 60-day cycle.Temperatures of the sand where the turtles nest determine the sex of the turtle: below 85 degrees Fahrenheit (30ºC) is predominately male; above 85 degrees Fahrenheit (30ºC) is predominately female.

Planting the sea turtle eggs into the sand.

Burying the turtle eggs deep inside. After hatching, the young may take as long as a week to dig themselves out of the nest.

They emerge at night, move toward the ocean and remain there, solitary, until it is time to mate. Mating season is commonly March-October, depending on the species with 6-10 weeks gestation period. A female turtle could clutch between 70-190 eggs depending on the species.

A sea turtle hatchling. When the young hatchlings came out of their eggs, they make their way to the ocean. Few survive to adulthood.

And here’s us, getting ready to release the turtle back to where they belong; to the sea.

Releasing Turtle Hatchlings Back to The Sea in Resorts World Kijal

It was really an eye opening experience, and quite emotional too, considering every 100 hatchings released, only one or two will survived. Sea turtle mortality rate is very high not only because of the predatory sea and the nature of the wildlife.

Should you wanna experience something like this, I recommend you to go over to Resorts World Kijal and I have no doubt that you will have an experience of a lifetime.

For more information and ongoing promotions in Resorts World Kijal, please refer to the information below.

Resorts World Kijal
Add: Km 28, Jalan Kemaman-Dungun, 24100 Kijal, Kemaman, Terengganu.
Email: [email protected]
Tel: (609) 864 1188
Fax: (609) 864 1688
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ResortsWorldKijal/