Giant Leatherback Turtles

In mid-2007, the Malaysian Fisheries Department revealed a plan to clone leatherback turtles to replenish the country's rapidly-declining population. Some conservation biologists however, were skeptical of the proposed plan because cloning has only succeeded on mammals such as dogs, sheep, cats, and cows, and uncertainties persist about cloned animals' health and life spans. Leatherbacks used to nest in the thousands on Malaysian beaches, including those at Trengganu where more than 3,000 females nested in the late 1960s.The last official count of nesting leatherback females on that beach was recorded to be a mere two females in 1993.

People around the world still harvest sea turtle eggs. Asian exploitation of turtle nests have been cited as the most significant factor for the species' global population decline. In Southeast Asia, egg harvesting in countries such as Thailand and Malaysia has led to a near-total collapse of local nesting populations. In Malaysia, where the turtle is practically locally extinct, the eggs are considered a delicacy. In the Caribbean, some cultures consider the eggs to be aphrodisiacs. They are also a major jellyfish predator which helps keep jellyfish populations in check.


(from wikipedia) read more here

I consider myself VERY LUCKY to able to catch the giant leatherback turtle way back in 1982, because they are completely absent from Trengganu shores for the last decade!!