Three Sea Turtle Species Winking Out In Malaysia

[hatrack]

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - "Several species of sea turtles in Malaysia could vanish in a few years, largely due to illegal poaching of the creatures and their eggs, scientists warned on Wednesday.

At least three turtle populations - the leatherback, the olive ridley and the hawksbill - "are on the brink of collapse, which could lead to a biodiversity crisis" in the Southeast Asian nation, international turtle scientists said in a statement after a conference on conservation efforts.

The sea turtles also nest in other countries, but scientists at the conference focused on the situation in Malaysia, where sea turtles have existed virtually unchanged for more than 100 million years. But in recent years, human activity, including shoreline development, fishing, pollution and the taking of eggs - considered an aphrodisiac in some parts of Asia - has increasingly threatened the creatures.

EDIT

The number of leatherback nests in the northeastern Terengganu state, where most of the turtles visit, has fallen from more than 10,000 a few decades ago to less than 10 in recent years, it added."

EDIT

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/world/9432244.htm

[shadu]

1. This is sad to hear

fewer than 10 leatherback nests