TURTLE SANCTUARY CHERATING

WELCOME TO TURTLE SANCTUARY CHERATING PAHANG

Cherating Turtle Sanctuary is located just beside Asia's first Club Med in Cherating, Pahang. This centre was established in the year 1972 as a turtle hatchery in an effort to protect the endanger species in particular the Leatherback Turtle. It was opened to the public in June, 1 1998.

Situated at the Chendor Beach or Pantai Chendor, this centre helps to ensure the survival of the turtles that land here to lay eggs during the months from April to August. You are allowed to come here during the night and the centre will alert you if there are turtles that come up the shore to lay eggs. It also acts as an information centre to educate the public about turtles and the need to protect them.

                                                   INFORMATION

         Tuesdays to Sundays : 9am to 1pm, 2pm to 5:30pm

      (The lunch break is from 1pm to 2pm. The centre is closed on Mondays.)

   Fridays: 9am to 12:00pm, 3pm to 5:30pm

       (The centre is closed from 12pm to 3pm for Friday prayer)

                                                           

                                       

CONTACT NUMBER :

TEL: (6)09-5819087

FAX: (6)-09-5523482

EMAIL: penyuphg@tm.net.my

ACTIVITIES

"Visit to turtle egg hatchery"

"The release of turtle children"

"Exhibition tour (static) illumination and video presentation"

"A night turtle watching program on the beach cherating as far as 3.5KM"

"Research program"

ABOUT

Cherating Turtle Sanctuary is located just beside Asia's first Club Med in Cherating, Pahang. This centre was established in the year 1972 as a turtle hatchery in an effort to protect the endanger species in particular the Leatherback Turtle. It was opened to the public in June, 1 1998.

Situated at the Chendor Beach or Pantai Chendor, this centre helps to ensure the survival of the turtles that land here to lay eggs during the months from April to August. You are allowed to come here during the night and the centre will alert you if there are turtles that come up the shore to lay eggs. It also acts as an information centre to educate the public about turtles and the need to protect them.

In total, there are 7 species of marine turtles in the world and 4 of these species land and lay their eggs on Malaysian beaches. They are the Leatherback Turtle, Green Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle and Olive Ridley Turtle.

Over the years, the number of Leatherback turtles that come to the shore of Malaysia has dwindled and you will not be able to see any of them coming here now. The reasons are because of the poachers who came to take the eggs away for commercial reason, abused of the turtles from the public and the pollution

"FOUR SPECIES OF SEA TURTLES THAT NEST ON THE BEACHES IN MALAYSIA SEA"

Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriaces)

Green Turtle (Chelonia Mydas)

Hawksbill (Eretmochelys Imbricata)

Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidocgelys Olivacea)

Loggerhead

Kemp's Ridley

Flatback

                                                                         EXHIBITS

Besides acting as a place where you can wait at the benches in the night, the Cherating Turtle Sanctuary also has many exhibits for you to explore. There are information on the different types of turtles, their habitat, food and the location where they can be found in Malaysia and in particular, the state of Pahang. There are also graphs and statistics on the number of turtles that come here.

It was reported recently that the number of green turtles that came here has increased from 160 for the year 2006 to 288 from Jan to Aug 2007. This shows that the turtles conservation programme is bearing fruit and should be continued.

Apart from information on turtles, you will be able to see many exotic and nice sea shells that are on displayed at the main exhibition hall. Big corals are also aplenty here .

        DO YOU KNOW THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TURTLE AND TORTOISE ??

                                           

Definition	A Tortoise is a reptile from the Chelonian family and dwells well on land.	A Turtle is a reptile from the Chelonian family and dwells well in the water.
Definition	Found mostly in Asia and Africa but some species exist in Americas too.	Africa, America
Shape of the shell	Mostly large dome shaped shells (with bumps on the top in some species).	Mostly flat, streamlined shells
Weight of the shell	The shells are heavier	Generally light-weight shell.
Limbs	Feet are short and sturdy with bent legs.	Webbed feet with long claws.
Diet	Most are herbivores, but some species prefer live food	Eats fruits, veggies, leafy vegetation and meat, hence they are omnivores.
Birth	Tortoise hatchlings move from their nest to the mothers burrow soon after birth.	Turtle hatchlings stay in their nest on their own for 90-120 days.
Lifespan	80-150 years. The longest living Tortoise is 326 years	20-40 years. The oldest was 86 years.

APPENDIX

Tourism Student of Politeknik Metro Kuantan