Unsung turtle conservation heroes in Malaysia’s Sabah unite to fight poachers
A group of volunteers is helping to stem the illegal trade of protected turtles by monitoring the movements of poachers
Roziah Jelali has a tip or two on catching a turtle poacher: carrying a pair of binoculars and having patience in spades are key to doing the job well.
The 36-year-old Malaysian volunteer ranger once spent three months in Sabah tracking a man whom she suspected of illegally capturing protected turtles. Once thriving off the azure seas of Omadal Island in the Malaysian state, many turtles had been hunted down, killed and sold for their meat, according to conservation experts.
Recounting the 2023 incident, Roziah said she patrolled the beach from dawn daily to keep an eye on the poacher. She would scribble detailed notes on her target’s movements at her stilted home, backed by tips from her network of part-time conservationists on nearby islands.
“Every day after my patrol, I would sit near my house with my binoculars and watch him. He was initially operating on Bum Bum Island, then he came to Omadal,” Roziah told This Week in Asia.
