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Sea turtle with sliced shell found dead at Changi

An endangered giant sea turtle was found dead on a Singapore beach with its shell sliced in half, likely by a boat’s propeller, experts and the man who discovered it said on Tuesday (Jan 3).

The green sea turtle can be found in the waters off Singapore. Reuters file photo.

The green sea turtle can be found in the waters off Singapore. Reuters file photo.

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SINGAPORE — An endangered giant sea turtle was found dead on a Singapore beach with its shell sliced in half, likely by a boat’s propeller, experts and the man who discovered it said on Tuesday (Jan 3).

According a Channel NewsAsia report, the turtle was found by Mr Chandran V R while he was out jogging on Monday.

Mr Chandran described the animal as being more than one metre long.

“The smell was overpowering, and when I followed the smell I saw a bulky item ... I walked towards it and saw the turtle and it was dead,” he told AFP.

“Cautiously I walked around it and I can see that there was a slash or a cut (on the shell)... In my opinion it was probably done by a propeller.”

Mr Chandran, a property executive, said he called the police.

“I was quite concerned ... I just don’t want people to dismember the body. It’s a turtle, people do eat turtles in this part of the region,” he said.

Mr Stephen Beng, chair of the Singapore Nature Society’s Marine Conservation Group, said the animal looked like a female green sea turtle, which inhabit the island’s reefs.

Environmental group WWF has classified the green sea turtle as an endangered species.

“From the injury scars, it most definitely was a boat strike. The propeller mark was likely from a large one and it seems the turtle was making a dash for cover,” Mr Beng told AFP.

Mr Beng said marine animals are at risk from boats because Singapore is one of the world’s busiest ports and its shipping lanes “bisect the longer coastal beaches of our main island from the richer coral reefs of our southern islands”.

Mr Beng urged boat crew to be vigilant to avoid hitting wildlife and said they should ideally maintain a distance of 50 metres and reduce speed when animals are sighted.

A dolphin carcass was found on a Singapore beach in 2016, while a dead sperm whale was washed ashore in 2015. One expert said at that time that the whale could have collided with a boat. AGENCIES

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