Last week i visited the Turtle Conservation and Education Center (TCEC) on Serangan Island.
This is no animal circus or zoo, and handling of turtles is not permitted. In fact, i was very happy to see there aren't even that many turtles at TCEC.
Why so few turtles? Because a part of what TCEC does is to hatch and release turtles into the wild.
In the hatchery area we saw five small mounds in the sand. Each bump represents about 100 eggs that are buried there and waiting to hatch.
In crystal clear ponds there are about ten turtles that are kept up until a maximum of one year old for 'éducational purposes.'
There is a turtle that is recovering after swallowing plastic, another that is recovering from being caught in a fisherman's net. Both will be released back into the wild.
There is only one resident who cannot be released. She is Lola. We were told Lola was attacked by a shark when she was a youngster, and with her severely damaged shell and a missing leg, she cannot be released.
TCEC is about education, research, conservation, a genuine respect for wildlife, and it is everything i hoped it would be. :)