In News
- A large number of Olive Ridley turtles have started arriving for mating at the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary in Odisha.
About Olive Ridley turtles
- Scientific name: Lepidochelys olivacea; also known as the Pacific ridley sea turtle.
- Location:Â Found in warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
- Features:Â
- One of the smallest sea-turtles on the earth.
- Olive green colour of their shell. Â
- They can grow up to two-and-a-half feet in length and weigh 30-45 kilograms.Â
- Food: Mainly shrimp, crab, molluscs, fish and crabs.
- Known for their unique mass nesting called Arribada (which means ‘arrival by the sea’ in Spanish), where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs.Â
- They hatch in 45 to 60 days.
- Gender: determined by the temperature at which they are hatched.Â
- A male turtle is born if the egg hatches at a temperature below 29 degrees Celsius.Â
- Above that, the hatchling is a female.Â
- Sea Turtles in India: There are five species of sea turtles in Indian waters viz.,
- Leatherback,Â
- Loggerhead,Â
- Hawksbill,Â
- Green andÂ
- Olive Ridley.
- Conservation Status:
- IUCN Red List:Â Vulnerable
- Schedule I of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
- CITES Appendix I
- Nesting sites:Â
- Rushikulya rookery coast (Odisha),Â
- Gahirmatha beach (Bhitarkanika National park) andÂ
- Mouth of the Devi River.
- Threats:Â
- More frequent and intense flooding and cyclones
- Sex ratio is getting skewed because of global warming.
- Hunted for meat and shell.
- Anthropogenic factors like fishing trawlers etc.
Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary
- It is a marine wildlife sanctuary located in Odisha.
- It is the world’s largest nesting beach for Olive Ridley Turtles.
- It extends from Dhamra River mouth in the north to Brahmani river mouth in the south.
- Gahirmatha was declared a turtle sanctuary in 1997 by Odisha after considering its ecological importance and as part of efforts to save the sea turtles.
Source: IE
