Acres & NParks release 3 rescued non-native endangered turtles to M'sia forest

One of the animals is a critically endangered Malaysian giant turtle that was found in Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in December 2019.

Acres named her "Jasmine".

The red markings on her shell suggested that she could have been a victim of the illegal wildlife trade.

Acres also found that it was likely that she was trafficked for consumption or illegal pet trade, then likely purchased for mercy release.

Malaysian giant turtles are native to Indonesia and Malaysia and were assessed in 2020 to be "critically endangered" due to declining populations.

Other critically endangered animals include the Sunda pangolin, Javan rhinoceros, all orangutans species and some species of tigers, Kalai said.

Giant Asian pond turtle Genie

"Genie" is a Giant Asian pond turtle that was found walking about on Chatsworth Road in the Tanglin area in July 2020 before being rescued by Acres.

The species is native to Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

The Giant Asian pond turtle was assessed to be "critically endangered" in 2021 due to declining populations threatened by habitat loss and poaching for food and pet trade.

Black marsh terrapin Saleen

Joining them on the journey to Malaysia is "Saleen", a Black marsh terrapin which has been cared for and rehabilitated by NParks at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation since January 2022.

Native to many parts of Southeast Asia, the species faces declining populations due to threats from habitat loss and illegal wildlife trade.

The species' conservation status on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species was also uplisted from "vulnerable" to "endangered" in 2021.

Black marsh terrapins are often released into the wild as religious merit-making offerings in Singapore.

Handed over to Malaysian teams

The team of caregivers from Acres started a "rigorous rehabilitation process" at its outdoor sanctuary after preliminary veterinary assessments for Jasmine and Genie with the goal of releasing them back to the wild in Malaysia, said Acres.

The process included introducing them to the wild diet, as well as dietary and behavioural enrichment programmes to stimulate natural behaviours.

Finally, they limited their interactions with humans where possible.

Unfortunately, the repatriation plans for the turtles came to a halt amid the pandemic due to travel restrictions.

Now, the turtles are finally getting the green light to be transported to Malaysia.

They will be handed over to the Department of Wildlife (Perhilitan) and the National Parks Peninsular Malaysia.

The three turtles will undergo further rehabilitation before being released in an undisclosed forest location.

After the release, Perhilitan will monitor them to ensure that they are coping well in the forest.

Collaborative effort

Acres said it was grateful for the collaboration with the Malaysian teams to give Genie and Jasmine a second lease at life back in the wild.

Kalai, who manages Acres' wildlife rescue department, shared that pandemic “drastically affected [the organisation's] promise to the animals".

"But with continuous support from our donors, volunteers and hard work from the ACRES team, we are still here, still fighting and we are back to fulfilling our promise for the animals.”

Ryan Lee, group director of wildlife management at NParks noted that the agency will continue to work with organisations such as Acres in wildlife rescue and rehabilitation efforts.

“We are happy that one of our rescued wildlife, a Black marsh terrapin which we have cared for at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation, will be repatriated today with the help of Acres," said Lee on Jul. 18.