According to WWF-Malaysia, very little is known about the Olive Ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) in Malaysia. Called Penyu Lipas in Malay, the Olive Ridley is the smallest of all marine turtles,and is classified in the IUCN List as "vulnerable".

The Olive Ridleys have migratory routes around the Indian Ocean and may travel thousands of kilometres between feeding and nesting sites. Any destruction of their nesting sites is bound to endanger them further.

This newspaper article and video shows the release of the baby turtles in Pasir Blanda, a beach between Teluk Kumbar and Gertak Sanggul in Penang Island South, earlier this year.  

70 baby turtles head back home to the sea

The Star, 23 March 2019.

GEORGE TOWN: Seventy baby turtles happily made their way into the sunset after they were released at a beach at Teluk Kumbar, Bayan Lepas, a week after they were hatched.

State Fisheries Department director Noraisyah Abu Bakar said the Olive Ridley Sea turtles or better known as penyu lipas are an endangered species which is near extinction.

“Turtles are sensitive animals and we have to make sure that they are released in safe condition.

“Turtles usually come back to the place they are released when they are matured after 15 to 20 years to lay eggs.

“We usually set them free at the beach, so that they will remember the process better and come back to lay eggs in the future,” she told reporters on Friday.

Noraisyah added that the turtles could travel to as far as the Maldives and Indonesia but come back here to lay eggs.

#SavePenang   #PenangTolakTambak   #NelayanBangkit

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/03/24/70-baby-turtles-head-back-home-to-the-sea/#YJg0yqzPJSDpxlBH.99