A green sea turtle at Verde Island, Philippines. The turtle found in Hong Kong was said to be “in excellent condition”. Photo: Sarah GillespieHong Kong wildlife authorities are looking for the owner of an endangered sea turtle after the reptile was left abandoned outside a marine education centre.
Staff at Aquameridian Conservation and Education on Monday night discovered the green sea turtle in a plastic container box with an anonymous letter and some supplies left outside the centre in Quarry Bay.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department on Wednesday said its officers had retrieved the turtle and brought it to Ocean Park “for further observation and inspection” after getting alerted about it the day before.
A spokesman said the reptile was still a juvenile as its shell was about 50cm (19.7 inches) long, adding the turtle showed no apparent signs of injury.
The department said it was following up on the case.
Ocean Park said staff received the turtle on Tuesday, with the reptile currently in the care of specialists.
“The sea turtle weighs 9kg [19.8lbs] and its shell measures 46cm by 40cm,” a park spokesman said.
He added that the turtle was being monitored at a back-of-house facility in the park, with veterinary surgeons to give it a check-up on Thursday.
“The park will further discuss the subsequent arrangements for the sea turtle with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department,” the spokesman said.
Sharon Pong Kwok Sau-wan, founder of Aquameridian Conservation and Education, said two men had left the turtle outside her office, alongside a bag of food and salt, on Monday night.
She said the reptile “seemed to be in excellent condition” and was very active.
“Unlike those I often encounter in the wild, he has a perfectly clean and undamaged shell,” Pong said.
The note left with the turtle claimed the reptile was bought online seven years ago while it was still a hatchling.
“Now it is getting bigger and bigger,” the note read. “I didn’t take its size into consideration, and I can no longer provide it with a suitable environment.”
The writer said they hoped Aquameridian Conservation and Education could help the turtle, saying: “I don’t want to release it back to nature … out of concerns that it might be captured and euthanised by authorities.”
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Hong Kong Marine Protection Alliance spokesman Stan Shea Kwok-ho said the turtle could not be released into the wild before its origin was identified.
“It may have been accidentally caught in Hong Kong or traded and imported from somewhere else,” he said.
Shea said such animals needed to be rehabilitated before being released into the wild.
Ocean Park said it had rescued more than 100 sea turtles since 2000, with 79 having been released back into the sea following rehabilitation.
The park urged the public not to keep endangered wild animals as pets.
Green sea turtles are currently classified as endangered due to overharvesting of their eggs, poaching, loss of habitat and by-catch in commercial fishery.
Importing and possession of the reptiles is regulated under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance and the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance.
The Wild Animals Protection Ordinance stipulates that all wild turtles in Hong Kong have protected status.
Those found guilty of hunting, disturbing and trading such animals without permission will be fined HK$100,000 (US$12,800) and jailed for up to a year.
Trading and possessing green sea turtles illegally is punishable by a maximum of a HK$10 million fine and 10 years in jail, according to the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance.
The SCMP understands from police that they had not received any reports regarding the abandoned animal.