Sea turtles are well-adapted to the ocean. They will travel
through long distances to feed, and come to the beach to nest.
The beaches of Kapas are among the many nesting beaches
of sea turtles in Malaysia, primarily the green turtles.
Sea turtles are marine reptiles that are found in tropical and subtropical seas in the world. Four sea turtles which have been found in Malaysia are; the green turtles, the hawksbill, the olive ridley and the leatherback. The green sea turtles can grow up to 1.2m long and weigh in average 190kg. Their front flippers are longer than the back flippers. The carapace of an adult is brown in color with marble patterns and average of 1m in length.
The general life cycle starts from the adult females that dig nest cavities on sandy, ocean-facing beaches. After the incubation, the hatchlings emerge from the nests, crawl to the water and swim out to the open ocean. The young juveniles would remain pelagic for a period of time at a location that varies according to species. Scientists know very little of this phase before they appear again near shallow waters.
Sea turtles are highly migratory marine reptiles that play vital roles in maintaining the health of the oceans. All sea turtles use different habitats and areas during their life cycle such as the seagrasses and the coral reefs. The marine sea turtles play important roles in maintaining a balanced food web, maintaining marine habitat, importance to beach dunes and also nutrient cycling in the marine ecosystem.
According to the IUCN Red List the olive ridley are globally vulnerable while hawksbills on the other hand are critically endangered. In Malaysia, among the four species that have been sighted, only green sea turtles have a fairly stable population.