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- According to conservation experts, global warming and extreme weather events may lead to a decline in Olive Ridley turtles’ population over time.
About
- 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, shell
- Anthropogenic factors like fishing trawlers etc.
Source: DTE
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