KUALA , MALAYSIA: The endangered leatherback turtle has made a surprise return to nest in Malaysia where they were feared to have been wiped out. However, experts worry that the precious eggs will not hatch.

After a no-show last year, the rare giant turtles have nested twice on the Rantau Abang beach in northern Terengganu on June 23 and 24.

"This is exciting and it has given us new hope in our conservation efforts," said state Fisheries Department director Munir Mohamad Nawi.

"We presume that (roughly) two more females will arrive to nest. Two years ago we had five nesting sites," he told AFP, adding that none of the eggs gathered then had produced baby leatherbacks.

Workers from the state's Turtle and Marine Ecosystem Centre hatchery have recovered 41 eggs from the latest two nests, less than half what would be expected.

"This is unfortunate. At the first nest, there were no eggs at all and we were lucky to find the 41 eggs in the second," said Munir.

He said it was likely the eggs had been poached by locals who sell them illegally at nearby markets.

The leatherbacks are the largest of all sea turtles and have been around for the past 75 million years, surviving cycles of near-extinction.

In Terengganu, the only place in Malaysia where the leatherbacks nest, the turtles were once a star attraction but over fishing, poaching and pollution have caused the population to plummet.

"My only hope is that the eggs hatch," said Rahayu Zulkifli from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), which runs a turtle conservation project in Terengganu.

"None has hatched since 2000 because they were infertile.

"It is increasingly difficult to find male leatherbacks here so most of the eggs are not fertilised and they eventually do not hatch," she added.

Munir said Malaysian scientists were planning to use "advanced reproductive biotechnology" to fertilise this month's haul.

He said that cloning was another method being studied.