Hawksbill turtle carcass found on Terengganu beach

Ramlah Mamat, 48, who found the carcass, said that she initially noticed a foul smell before spotting the carcass, behind the branches of a pine tree by the beach.

"My family members were excited when we saw the turtle, but at the same time sad because it has died," she told Bernama here, yesterday.

She said the turtle, which was about 75 centimetres long, was believed to have been dead for a few days because the lower part of the body had started to decay.

Another visitor, Zulkifli Ismail, 60, said that the hawksbill turtle is also known as the 'penyu sisik' by the locals, and he could not tell whether the turtle was male or female due to its decaying state.

"I believe that the turtle died in the sea, before being washed to the shore by the waves during last week's high tide phenomenon," said Zulkifli, who was upset to see many turtles had died in recent times, either due to human negligence or natural causes.