The photo shoes a child riding an endangered sea turtle. Photo / Facebook
The photo shoes a child riding an endangered sea turtle. Photo / Facebook
A photo of a small child riding a critically endangered sea turtle in Malaysia has gone viral, prompting a government investigation to identify those involved.
The image shows a child in an orange life jacket sitting on the shell of the hawksbill turtle, while an adult holds down the creature with their foot in an attempt to stop it from pulling away.
According to Business Insider Malaysia, the photo was posted to Instagram with the caption "to appeal to tourists, the tour and boat operator caught the turtle and put it on the boat for tourists to take pictures with".
The image was met with hundreds of angry comments, calling on the government to take action.
"What is wrong with these people," one person wrote on the post.
"Please take action on her if not her parents for not educating their own child," another added.
"I think the operator should be the one being penalised."
The critically endangered hawksbill is named for its narrow, pointed beak. It also has a distinctive pattern of overlapping scales on their shells that form a serrated-look on the edges.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, sea turtles are the living representatives of a group of reptiles that has existed on Earth and travelled our seas for the past 100 million years. This specific species, which is one of the smaller variations, are threatened by the loss of nesting and feeding habitats, excessive egg collection, fishery-related mortality, pollution and coastal development.
According to the New Straits Times, Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said the department was aware of the photo and had sent an enforcement team from Semporna — the closest town to Tun Sakaran Marine Park, a dive site rich in marine life — to investigate.
The hawksbill turtle is critically endangered. Photo / Getty Images
Christina Liew, environment minister for the Malaysian state of Sabah said the image was "unacceptable".
"To catch a turtle, put it on a boat and ride it is unacceptable," she told Channel News Asia.
"I cannot comment further until the investigation is complete. What can I say — this is an offence.
"We welcome tourists to Sabah who visit because there are many beautiful places, but at the same time, we expect tourists to respect our laws. To catch a turtle, put it on a boat and ride it is unacceptable."
"Sea turtles have nerves in their shells and can feel things on their shell that we can on our skin; pressure, touch, heat and so on," turtle ecologist Rushan Rahman said.
"This also means they can feel pain if they are whacked, punctured or slashed."
