Sea turtles find human friends at Hainan center

Pang Pang, a green sea turtle 71 centimeters long that was washed ashore more than a year ago and sent by fishermen to Haikou, Hainan province, for rehabilitation, will soon leave its human friends behind and return to the sea in sound condition.

"The most exciting thing for us is to see the turtles released into the sea after receiving care at our center," said Sun Mengli, one of the volunteers at Hainan Normal University's turtle conservation and research center in Haikou.

People on Hainan, a well-known tropical island resort with abundant natural scenery and wildlife resources, once saw turtles regularly on its beaches, but after years of overhunting, the animals' numbers have dropped drastically.