There was a rumor that a Lekang turtle was found dead, for allegedly eating plastic waste in the Congot Beach area, Temon District, Kulonprogo Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta (12/09/2018).
To find out the cause of the turtle’s death, The Center for Conservation and Natural Resources (BKSDA), which is collaborating with the Faculty of Biology, UGM is also observing the dead sea turtle that has been buried. They carried out an autopsy and checked whether there was plastic waste inside the turtle and identified the type of plastic.
When dissected the entrails of the turtle’s stomach, there was not found any plastic. UGM Biology Faculty lecturer found a pufferfish in the turtle’s stomach which might have been consumed by a turtle before. Furthermore, Donan Satria Yudha (Lecturer in the Faculty of Biology UGM) explained that based on photos circulating on social media, after checking, the object that is suspected to be plastic is not plastic but an organ in a turtle that comes out.
Nevertheless, Donan said if the cause of death of the turtle must be sought further. The Lekang type turtle found dead was found by fisher and activist Wild Water Indonesia (WWI) Kulonprogo who was fishing for fish on Sunday (9/12) last afternoon. Regardless of the cause of sea turtle death, of course, the government must immediately implement integrated waste management that can minimize the carrying of garbage to the sea.
