The Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is the largest living reptile in the world and has been around for 150 million years. It has evolved very little over the millennia, making this fascinating creature a true living fossil. This massive denizen of the sea reaches weights of more than 650 kilogrammes and lengths of close to 2.5 metres. The Leatherback turtle is possibly the most unique of sea turtles. Rather than a hard carapace like other sea turtles, it has a smooth, leathery carapace. Leatherback turtles are pelagic and spend most of their life at sea, often in colder waters than other sea turtles. After emerging from eggs laid on sandy beaches, the hatchlings enter the sea, where they spend years maturing into adults, during which time they never return to land.

Mating occurs at sea and when ready to lay eggs, only the gravid female returns to land briefly, to deposit her eggs. It is thought that the females return to the same beaches where they themselves were hatched, although some researchers suspect that certain females frequent different nesting sites. 

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Of the world’s seven species of sea turtles, four of them nest on Malaysia’s shores, including the Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), the Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata), the Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) and the Leatherback turtle. Nesting sites of the leatherback turtle in Malaysia are restricted to Rantau Abang, in the state of Terengganu, on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. This site is extremely important and is one of fewer than 200 such places in the world.

Unfortunately, Malaysia has all but lost its nesting Leatherback turtles for a variety of reasons. These include accidental death caused by fishing nets and other fishing equipment, nesting habitat destruction and badly managed eco-tourism. In 1961, in response to a critical decline in the population of nesting leatherback turtles, a hatchery programme was initiated by the Fisheries Department. The aim of this programme, which continues today, was to conserve at least a proportion of the eggs collected for controlled incubation and release. However, this has met with limited success, and most of the eggs collected by locals continue to be eaten. Furthermore, the success rate of the hatchery programme was low, and few Leatherback turtle hatchlings were successfully released.