Wildlife Rescue
You found a turtle or tortoise
Freshwater terrapins, tortoises and sea turtles found in Macau
What to do depends entirely on which turtle it is. A healthy freshwater terrapin crossing a path is usually fine and just needs to be left or helped across in its direction of travel, while a sea turtle up on a beach is almost always sick or injured and must never be pushed back into the water.
What to do
- Note the setting: a land or pond turtle on a path is handled very differently from a sea turtle stranded on sand.
- For a small freshwater turtle in danger on a road, move it a short distance in the direction it was already heading and leave it near cover.
- For a sea turtle, do not return it to the sea, keep it calm and shaded where it is.
- Keep a stranded sea turtle cool and moist with a wet towel over the shell, and mark the exact spot.
- Handle it as little as possible, and never lift a turtle by the head, tail or flippers.
- Call IAM or Royal Veterinary Centre right away, especially for any sea turtle or an injured turtle.
What NOT to do
- ×Do not push or throw a stranded sea turtle back into the water, sick turtles strand for a reason and can drown.
- ×Do not pick a turtle up by its tail, head or limbs, as this can injure its spine.
- ×Do not take it home, keep it, or release a pet turtle into the wild.
- ×Do not offer food, and keep it out of hot sun.
When to step in
Help a freshwater turtle only to get it off a road or out of immediate danger. Any sea turtle on a beach, or any turtle that is injured, bleeding, tangled in fishing line, or covered in barnacles, needs professional help, so report it and wait for guidance.
See a vet urgently if...
- !A sea turtle up on the beach, still or barely moving, as strandings are almost always sick or injured turtles
- !A cracked or damaged shell, bleeding, or a fish-hook or line attached
- !Tangled in netting, rope or plastic
- !Covered in barnacles or algae, or floating and unable to dive
Who to call
IAM (Municipal Affairs Bureau, Instituto para os Assuntos Municipais) is Macau's wildlife authority, Civic Service Hotline (853) 2833 7676. Royal Veterinary Centre can stabilise or advise on injured turtles 24/7 at +853 6677 6611.
Legal note
Sea turtles and native terrapins are protected species, so keeping, selling or releasing them is generally illegal in Macau, and any rescue must go through IAM. Releasing pet turtles such as red-eared sliders also harms local wildlife.
In Macau
Green and other sea turtles occur in the wider Pearl River Delta waters and can strand on beaches such as Hac Sa, so any beached turtle in Macau is a report-it-now situation.
Sea turtles can live for many decades and navigate across whole oceans to nest on the very beach where they hatched, which is why rescuing a stranded one properly really matters.
Related care sheets
General guidance reviewed by the Royal Veterinary Center team. Not a substitute for a veterinary examination. Always confirm species-specific and legal requirements for Macau.