When the person who shot the video confronted the resort staff, they said the turtles don't have enough food.
A resort in Pulau Kapas, Malaysia is being investigated after a patron recorded a sea turtle eating hatchling sea turtles in a pool at the resort.
Jihia Koh was at the Gem Island Resort & Spa when he says he saw an adult sea turtle tear into a hatchling turtle and began eating it. Koh recorded the footage and uploaded the video to Facebook. It depicts a large sea turtle attacking and eating a hatchling. Other hatchlings in the pool are also shown in the footage trying to eat the dead hatchling.
“I think this is seriously crazy. Hatchlings have a very low chance of survival in the wild, but it has no chance to survive here and this place is called a turtle sanctuary,” Koh told the New Straits Times.
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Bureau Chief of New Straits Times Rosli Zakaria had approached me and State Fisheries Department is already handling the case to find out the story. Please refer to the news for the update," Koh wrote on Facebook. "I do know turtle is cannibalistic animal but I am not an expert in sea turtle. There are quite some sea turtle related NGO has aware on this matter and they have better knowledge and explanation on whats going on."
When Koh confronted staff at the resort, they said it was normal because there was not enough food. The adult turtle doesn’t look healthy in the video, and the shells of some of the hatchlings have algae growing on them.
(Viewer discretion is advised) There is a Turtle Conservation Sanctuary pool in Gem Island Resort & Spa. The reason to keep the turtle and hundred of hatchlings is unknown (For Tourist?) But what happened here is turtle are eating each other. The turtle was eating the hatchling, or bite the hatchling to crush the hatchling's head to make the eyes popped out and other hatchlings came to eat it. I had informed the staff there but they told me this is normal, I asked him why and his reply was "Not enough food". I think this is seriously crazy. Hatchling has very low chance to survive in the wild, but it has no chance to survive here and it is called turtle sanctuary.
Posted by Jihia Koh on Sunday, September 10, 2017
After the video went viral, Malaysia’s State Fisheries Department director Zawawi Ali told the Straits Times that the department is investigating.
“If it is true, we want to know who gave them the permission to keep the turtles and open a sanctuary. No one is allowed to keep sea turtles as pets or open a sanctuary at their own free will.. This is not just our law but it is internationally sanctioned.
“All sea turtles are endangered species. We may order the resort operator to close down the so-called conservation sanctuary pool and seize the turtles.
"We will relocate the animal to our observation centre in Rantau Abang. If necessary, we will release some of the turtles back to the sea,” he said.
