Why in news?
Olive ridleys are nesting along Odisha and Tamil Nadu coasts. Mass mating has begun at Rushikulya and Gahirmatha beaches. First nests of the season were relocated to hatcheries for protection in Chennai Tamilnadu.
About Olive Ridley Sea Turtles
The Olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) is the smallest and most abundant sea turtle species, known for its olive-green shell and spectacular mass nesting events called arribadas.
Key Facts
- Size & Weight: Adults grow up to 80 cm in shell length and weigh between 40–50 kg.
- Appearance: Heart-shaped olive-green carapace with 5–9 pairs of scutes (scales).
- Distribution: Found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide, especially the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans.
- Lifespan: Estimated 30–50 years.
- Nesting Behavior: Famous for arribadas, where thousands of females come ashore simultaneously to lay eggs.
- Reproduction: Females lay ~100 eggs per clutch, often nesting annually or even twice a season.
- Navigation: They use Earth’s magnetic field as a “biological GPS” to return to natal beaches.
Conservation Status
- IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
- CITES: Appendix I (trade prohibited)
- Threats:
- Bycatch in fishing gear
- Egg harvesting and poaching
- Habitat degradation and coastal development
- Ocean pollution and marine debris
- Predation of eggs/hatchlings by invasive species
Turtles travel thousands of kilometers across the Indian Ocean to return to the same beaches where they hatched.
Download Pdf
