Olive Ridley Turtles

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: Found in warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
• Features: 
  • One of the smallest sea-turtles on the earth.
  • Olive green colour of their shell.  
  • They can grow up to two-and-a-half feet in length and weigh 30-45 kilograms. 
  • 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. 
  • They hatch in 45 to 60 days.
  • Gender: determined by the temperature at which they are hatched. 
    • A male turtle is born if the egg hatches at a temperature below 29 degrees Celsius. 
    • Above that, the hatchling is a female. 
• Sea Turtles in India: There are five species of sea turtles in Indian waters viz.,
  • Leatherback, 
  • Loggerhead, 
  • Hawksbill, 
  • Green and 
  • Olive Ridley.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
  • Schedule I of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972
  • CITES Appendix I
• Nesting sites: 
  • Rushikulya rookery coast (Odisha), 
  • Gahirmatha beach (Bhitarkanika National park) and 
  • Mouth of the Devi River.
• Threats: 
  • 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