Green turtle died of severe injuries – Liew

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Turtle carcass found floating upside down on the water near Jesselton Point.

KOTA KINABALU: The dead turtle found near Jesselton Point on Monday died of shock due to severe injuries believed to have been caused by the propeller of a boat.

Deputy Chief Minister cum Tourism, Culture and Environment minister Christina Liew said she was informed of the cause of death by the Sabah Wildlife Department which received the report on the turtle carcass found floating upside down on the water near Jesselton Point.

The highly decomposed Green Turtle carcass was taken to Lok Kawi for post mortem to determine the cause of death, she said in a statement yesterday.

“The Green turtle, Chelonia mydas, is a male turtle measuring 83cm in length. It was estimated to have died about two weeks ago. Post mortem conducted in the morning of June 5 concluded that cause of death is hypovolemic shock due to severe fracture of vertebrae, highly suggesting due to boat propeller strike.

“Most probably the turtle was hit by boat propeller around Kota Kinabalu water where boat density is high between the city and the surrounding islands. Although the water around here is not known for turtle landing and feeding ground, turtles may sometimes stray from its traditional route,” she said.

Turtle will come to the water surface to breathe so there is very high possibility that it was hit by boat propeller just when it come to breathe, Liew said adding, “We believe that the death is accidental and there is no element of intentional killing.