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Turtle hatchery at Turtle Islands National Park
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Turtle Islands National Park, or Taman Negara Pulau Penyu, is a national park located 40 km off the coast of Sandakan, Sabah. It consists of three islands, Pulau Selingaan, Pulau Bakkungan Kecil and Pulau Gulisaan. Collectively, the name Turtle Islands refer to the three, along with another seven islets which are across the border in the Tawi-Tawi province of the Philippines.
Turtle Islands (three in Malaysia, seven in the Philippines) are the only living habitat of the Green Sea Turtles in the world. It is also the place where hawksbill turtle come to lay eggs. On the Malaysian side, Turtle Islands National Park covers an area of 17.4 sq km.
To protect the wildlife, Selingan, Bakkungan Kecil and Gulisaan were made a game and bird sanctuary in 1972. This was upgraded to marine park in 1977. Pulau Libaran to the southwest is also within the park boundaries, even though it is not a major turtle breeding spot.
Of the islands in the Turtle Islands National Park, only Pulau Selingan has accommodation for visitors who wish to stay overnight. It boast one of the most detailed turtle conservation program in this part of the world. At Pulau Selingan, one is almost guaranteed a turtle sighting as the turtles come ashore almost every night throughout the year, with the peak period in October, when as many as 50 turtles may come ashore. In order not to unduly disturb the creature, the park requires all visitors to vacate the beach from sunset to sunrise. The ranger will inform visitors when a turtle is sighted. To minimize disturbing the turtles, visitors are allowed to observe only one turtle laying eggs per night.
Visitors get an educational tour of the program at Pulau Selingan. They learn about the rangers collect eggs from some of the nests - only a selection are gathered. Eggs are taken into man-made incubation chambers, made to re-create the natural condition. The rangers also tag turtles that visit the beach for the first time for better tracking.
Getting there
To visit Turtle Island, contact Crystal Quest (tel: 089 212711), the tour operator located in Sandakan for packages and accommodaton at Pulau Selingan.Turtle Islands National Park Location Map
List of National Parks in Sabah and National Parks in Malaysia
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Please use the information on this page as guidance only. The author endeavours to update the information on this page from time to time, but regrets any inaccuracies if there be any.Latest from Discover with Timothy: Gurney Bay - what to see and do there
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Hello and thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy and my hobby is in describing places so that I can share the information with the general public. My website has become the go to site for a lot of people including students, teachers, journalists, etc. whenever they seek information on places, particularly those in Malaysia and Singapore. I have been doing this since 5 January 2003, for over twenty years already. You can read about me at Discover Timothy. By now I have compiled information on thousands of places, mostly in Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore, and I continue to add more almost every day. My goal is to describe every street in every town in Malaysia and Singapore.
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