This Morning Our Freshwater Team In Setiuwetlands,..

This morning our #Freshwater team in #SetiuWetlands, #Terengganu rescued a pregnant #paintedterrapin that was caught in a fishing net called “pukat pari”, while trying to get to the beach to lay its eggs.

We suspected that it had been trapped for some time as there were red marks on it, possibly from the constriction of the net. It was weak from struggling in the net, but regained its energy after the rescue and was released to a nearby river three hours later.

Painted terrapins are a #CriticallyEndangered freshwater #turtle species that inhabits #rivers and #mangroves but will lay their eggs on the beach. Its nesting season is from June to September every year.

We are currently patrolling the nesting beaches nightly to rescue eggs from poachers and other predators. These eggs will then be brought to our hatchery where they will incubate in the sand for a few months. Each female painted terrapin only lays 5-15 eggs per clutch, and there is no guarantee that each egg will hatch.

#DYK that there are more than 250 different species of freshwater turtle — making up over 80% of the world’s turtle and tortoise species? Or that more than half of the world’s freshwater turtles are on the endangered list — threatened by habitat destruction, hunting and illegal trafficking? Check out our painted terrapin scientist Zaid Nasir’s article at http://bit.ly/ZaidPaintedTerrapin to learn more about this species.

Photos:

© WWF-Malaysia/Muhammad Zaid Nasir

© WWF-Malaysia/Muhammad Zaharuddin

#WildlifeRescue #TogetherPossible

#GanuKite @ Terengganu

Source: https://www.facebook.com/wwfmy/photos/a.10157020072438242/10..

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WWF Malaysia

WWF-Malaysia is a national conservation trust that currently runs conversation projects covering a diverse range of environmental protection & nature conservation in Malaysia. Our mission is to stop the degradation of the planet's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.

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