Sandakan to Selingan (Turtle) Island

We woke early this morning to walk around the fish market. We saw many different kinds of seafood directly from the local fishing boats, & lots of local fruits, vegetables & other meat. We had breakfast then met our guide, Hadi, and were shuttled to the local pier for the hour & a half trip to Selingan Island. We were very close to the Philippines here. Hadi told us they have to have police presence on each island to avoid poachers from the local Philippine Islands looking to steal Turtle eggs. We ate lunch & walked around the small island. It wasn’t long after our 7:30 dinner that a Ranger announced “turtle time”. We all ran to watch her lay the remainder of her 83 eggs. She was measured, & tagged. She was over 100 cm long. She hadn’t been tagged before, meaning she was likely a first time mother. The rangers collected her eggs as she laid them and we watched them bury them in the sand in the hatchery. Next we got to watch them release 35 little hatchlings into the Sea. It was quite a night. Hadi said we were lucky that we didn’t have to wait too long. Sometimes the rangers don’t spot a turtle laying until after 1 am. We were back at our room by 9:30 pm.Read more