Turtle Conservation And Education Center — Attraction in Denpasar Selatan

WARNING- Please be wary when visiting these Turtle Conservation Centres as they're not all ethical or responsible. Our driver accidentally took us to the wrong "conservation centre" before we made it to this one. You'll know straight away if you've been taken to the wrong centre - the two ladies at the front will ask for a donation to enter. You'll then be asked if you want to swim with the 50 year old sea turtle they have kept in a dirty pool. They kept a one year old sea turtle in a tiny bucket and wanted to give it to us to hold. There was also a dozen baby turtles in tiny buckets that looked very sick. One was definitely dead and when quizzed, the owner said it was just "tired". She then said for 150,000 Rp we could take any turtle we wished and release it to the beach ourselves. There was no educational aspect. We left feeling so sick we unknowingly passed over $10 aud for the entrance fee. Although we wanted to buy all the baby turtles to release to take them out of their misery we also knew that by handing over money we were supporting this horrible business. In many ways we are grateful we were accidentally taken to this centre as it opened our eyes to the truths behind the animal tourism industry and why it's so important to do your research and visit responsible and ethical conservation centres. The second centre we coated (and the one this review is for was wonderful). There is no cost to enter. Volunteers take you on a tour around the centre, you learn about the different species of turtles, and they'll talk about the current turtles that are in rehabilitation. Local schools visit for tours. For a 150,000 donation, you can also release a turtle. They will drive you in their rescue van to their releasing beach about 10 minutes away and will give you a certificate on your return with your turtle's name. This centre is doing a truly wonderful job. There's onsite vets and you can tell volunteers truly care for these turtles. A very special day and highly recommended. But please double check you're at the right centre and if not, get out of there...

I would love to see the turtles with more room to swim about, but the lack of money and space just doesn't allow for it. Given the constraints of money and space I think they are doing a fantastic job, and the place is well worth a visit.

They don't charge an entrance fee, leaving it up to you if you want to make a donation or not to help out. I left A$200.00 as a donation and I would encourage anyone that can help them out to do so.

The staff are mostly volunteers. When we visited there were two young guys (school students) doing volunteer work. They showed us around and explain all about the different problems facing turtles in the area. They explained how the place was trying to help injured and weak turtles back to full health and help the survival of the species as a whole. They were very knowledgeable, friendly and passionate about the work being done there. They explain that some of the turtles, because of injuries received, could not be returned to the wild as they wouldn't survive due to those injuries. They also try to beat the locals and careless tourists from destroying the nests. Where they can they remove the eggs from vulnerable sites and incubate them on site. Releasing them once they have hatched and are strong enough to have a decent chance of survival in the wild.

It turns out the the gender of the hatchlings is primarily governed by the temperature of the developing eggs. And as a result of the changing environment and the heating up of the waters around Bali (and no doubt other places), more hatchlings are born female then males. As a result there is a growing gender imbalance in the turtle population, which of course has a negative effect on their long term survivability.

Unfortunately the eggs and turtles are exploited for food and religious ceremonies by some of the local people, which added to the loss of natural habitat, is having a devastating effect on their population.

So it's well worth a visit and any donation, large or small is greatly...

First of all there are some misleading reviews in this site:

Snakes taped. Oh stupid! It is a turtle conservation site, will be no snake here.

Small area with many busses and not worth to visit? Excuse me. This is a conservation site. Not a touristic place. If you want to take picture with animal go to an expensive zoo (I don't like zoo!).

Well, this is my review. This is a first turtle conservation site I visited in Bali. I didn't expect this place is ran by Pertamina. Yes it is very small area but I think they bring a great mission about environmental, endangered animal and etc.

There's no entrance fee. It's only by donation. In the locket, they will give you an informative paper about this place. When you enter the site, there will be some guides.

Please don't expect they will speak an excellent English or expert about animal, they don't but they will be happy to share what they know about turtle.

First pool is where rescued turtles are placed. These turtles are mostly can't go back to the sea because they have missing their body part due to nature/environmental case (predator or human cause). There were 3 turtles when I was visiting: one with broken shell, one with Missy front leg and one with missing back leg.

They also have one place for turtles laying their egg. This is very critical because they need to keep the eggs from predator.

We adopted a turtle. We named it Moon Pie. One turtle is idr 150.000,-. They will be released back to the sea by the staff and you will get certificate with your name and your turtle on it.

The staff is very friendly. Pertamina need to make it bigger and help more.

This is amazing experience. I hope Moon...