Olive Ridley Turtles: Protection Status, and Nesting Sites In India

Context:

12 nesting sites of Olive Ridley Turtles were identified in the Mangalore division of Karnataka after a gap of 29 years.

Olive Ridley Turtles Are Back On Mangaluru Beaches

• Karnataka has the distinction of being the only state on India’s western coast having an Olive Ridley rookery.
  • Kundapur and Byndoor beaches record around 200 nesting sites a year.
• The Turtles nested on the beaches of Sasihithlu and Tannerbavi in the Mangalore division of Karnataka after a gap of 29 years (since 1985).

Olive Ridley Turtle

• Scientific name: Lepidochelys olivacea
• Range: They are found in warm tropical waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.

• Protection Status Of Olive Ridley Turtle

  • IUCN: Vulnerable
  • Wildlife( Protection) Act 1972: Schedule 1 CITES: Appendix I

• Olive Ridley Turtles Nesting Sites In India

  • Arribada beaches occur in, Odisha  (Gahirmatha, Devi River mouth, and Rushikulya) with an estimated +100,000 nests per year.
  • Andaman Islands, India, with more than 5,000 nests.
• Prey base: They are omnivorous and their prey base includes  algae, lobster, crabs, tunicates, jellyfish and mollusks.

• Threats To Olive Ridley Turtles

  • Bycatch in fishing gear, Climate change, Direct harvest of turtles and eggs, Loss and degradation of nesting and foraging habitat, Ocean pollution and marine debris, Predation of eggs and hatchlings by stray dogs in the daytime and foxes in the night time.

• Features Of Olive Ridley Turtles

• • They are the smallest sea-turtles on the earth but the most abundant in population
  • They generally arrive by night and leave by daybreak after laying eggs. The eggs hatch after a minimum of 10-12 days. 

News Source: DTE

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