Sunday April 3 – Day 9 – Selingan Island

Once again we were up early on Sunday, ate breakfast at 7:00 a.m. in the little restaurant opposite our hotel and at 7:30 a.m. set off walking to the port for our boat trip to Selingan, a turtle hatchery on one of the Turtle Islands. Turtles have been around since the dinosaur age, but due to natural threats, and human activity (consumption of their eggs and meat, and the shell trade, for example), have become endangered.

Our boat race across the glass smooth ocean took about 50 minutes and we ended up 2 k from the Philippine border. We were aware of the government travel alert for this part of Borneo, “Global Affairs Canada advises against non-essential travel to the coastal areas of southeastern Sabah, from the district of Beluran in the north to the town of Tawau in the south and all nearby islands, due to the risk of kidnapping and violence. These areas include, but are not limited to, the beaches of Sandakan, resorts along both the Kinabatangan River (district of Sukau) and the Sabahan River (district of Kunak), and the islands of Kapalai, Lankayan, Ligitan, Mabul, Mataking, Pom Pom, Selingan, Singamata, Sipadan, and other resort islands off the shores of Semporna.” Mmmmm!!! Our guide discreetly told us (I guess he figured we were capable of processing the information without alarm!) that four Malaysian sailors had been kidnapped by Filipino gunmen from a tugboat near Pulau Ligitan an island a little further east of Selingan on April 1. The Sabah government has taken several steps to try and control the kidnappings, but I don’t think the reasons are clear, or at least that is what the Sabah government would have you believe.  So, the biggest threat remains kidnapping for ransom. As we flew across the waters, my mind flew to all the possibilities of kidnapping!!

Selingan Island is one of the Turtle Islands, a group of 3 Malaysian and 7 Filipino islands where green and hornbill turtles come to lay their eggs. The island is small, a sandbar with some tropical vegetation in the middle. The accommodations were again in little cottages and despite the fact that the water heater/shower system did not work, were very adequate. It was hot, 34/36 C, but down on the beach a cool breeze from the ocean took the heat away from our bodies.

We wandered around after we arrived but there really wasn’t much to see. We did discover the police hideout on the beach and we had been warned “…not to hamper the police….” They were there to protect the tourists on the island! Then we had lunch, rented some snorkel equipment and spent the afternoon in the ocean hot tub swimming over a beautiful coral reef. The under-water world was a kaleidoscope of colourful fish, and corals. One very dark brown species of fish was quite brazen and came right at you trying to chase you away from its hole in the rocks on the sea-bottom. When it realized we were “human” and much, much bigger than they, it suddenly dived into its hole. This little fish also “nibbled” at peoples' legs in protection of their abode. Rainbow coloured fish, grey fish, striped fish, polka-dotted fish, iridescent purple clams, and outstanding formations and colours of coral filled our memories.

We pulled ourselves away just after 4:30 and went into “shower”. It was a “bottle” shower this time – a large water bottle filled with tap water as our improvisation for the lack of a working shower.

After showering we went down to the main lodge to watch a movie about the history and preservation of the green turtle. The island is a sanctuary for the breeding of turtles, which are endangered. Then we had dinner and waited for the action to begin.

At 8:30 p.m. we got the call “hurry quietly to the beach.” The female turtles come on shore after dark, dig deep holes in the sand, and lay their eggs. We were going to watch a turtle lay her eggs. We followed down the beach, past about four turtles digging their sand basins for their eggs, and were stopped beside a huge green turtle in the process of laying. She had started around 7:30 p.m. and seemed in some sort of birth trance with her back end over the hole and the eggs plopping out into it. We watched her for about 30 minutes, totally transfixed by the process and the fact that we were so close to the egg laying without seemingly having any affect on the process. Then she stopped laying, and started the process of filling in the hole to bury the eggs. In all she laid 64 eggs. As she was laying, the ranger had gently lifted the eggs from the hole and collected them in a basket.

All of the turtles that come on to the beach to lay eggs are tagged. The ranger looked for a tag on this turtle, but did not find one, so it was an exciting experience. A new visitor!! The ranger immediately “tagged” her. This was the only time she flinched, more in annoyance, than pain. We left her then in peace and headed over to the breeding field where we watched the ranger dig a hole, lay the 64 eggs gently in it, cover it over with sand, place some plastic protective netting around it – protection also for the baby turtles when they hatch - and label it. Quite a process, that had to be done for each turtle that laid its eggs… each night. There were 10 turtles laying the night we were there.

Next, we picked up a basket of 24 tiny little baby turtles that had just hatched, took them down to the beach, and released them into the ocean. They took off at top speed most heading into the blue/green waters of the ocean, but some heading in the wrong direction! We gently picked up the discombobulated babies and headed them in the right direction! Apparently, the babies only have a certain amount of energy after hatching and we could see this energy draining out of them like a dying battery as they made their way to the water. Those that survive may live as long as 80 years in the ocean! I am sorry that my pictures of the babies scurrying across the beach did not come out. But, the next morning, we found one little baby that had headed in entirely the opposite direction, so one of our group called the ranger and he came and set it in the right direction. You can see from this picture what a tough beginning these babies have. Just imagine 23 of them with their little legs scuttling over the indents in the sand, all desperate to reach water.

What an evening!! Interesting, and educational. It was like a dream sitting on the sand inches away from such a magnificent creature whose breed has survived since life with the dinosaurs.

Then all too quickly it was time for bed where we fell into a turtle trance and slept the night through. Just as an anecdote, did you know that the Chinese consider the turtle a “symbol of wisdom, endurance, wealth and long life?"