How DNA ‘fingerprinting’ is keeping Malaysia’s green turtles safe from poachers

AI Summary

Researchers are using DNA fingerprinting to help protect green turtles in Malaysia from poaching by identifying and tracking individuals. The report describes hatchlings on Sabah’s beaches and the turtles’ long-distance journeys back to nesting grounds.

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. Where it goes is impossible to know, but with a huge dose of luck on its epic travels, it may return to the same Malaysian beach decades later to lay eggs of its own. The hatchling is one of tens of thousands that emerge from Sabah’s beaches each year, as the species...