2026-10-10 · South China Morning Post
🔮 How DNA ‘fingerprinting’ is keeping Malaysia’s green turtles safe from poachers
Decades of conservation have helped Malaysia’s green turtles recover, but tight budgets, fuel costs and poachers threaten progress
As dawn breaks on Mataking Island off Sabah’s east coast, a tiny green turtle crawls across the sand, driven by instinct towards the surf before disappearing into the ocean on a journey that could cover thousands of kilometres.
The hatchling is one of tens of thousands that emerge from Sabah’s beaches each year, as the species continues a remarkable recovery after decades of conservation efforts to reverse its decline. mixed