News Excerpt
A number of Olive ridley turtles nesting have been identified in coastal regions in Karnataka.
News Excerpt:
- The coast of Karnataka has the distinction of being an Olive Ridley rookery on India’s western coast but some beaches around Mangaluru division in the southern state did not see Olive Ridley nesting sites since 1985 due to environmental factors like increased salinity and beach pollution due to human activity.
- This changed on February 5, 2024 when around 12 nesting sites were identified on Tannirbhavi and Sasihithlu beaches in coastal Karnataka.
Olive Ridley turtles
- The Olive ridley turtles are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world, inhabiting warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
- Though found in abundance, their numbers have been declining over the past few years, and the species is recognized as endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
- The Olive Ridley turtles are Schedule 1 animals under the Wildlife Act of 1972 and carry equal importance as tigers and elephants.
- According to wildlife experts, in India, while states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, and the offshore Andaman islands witness sporadic nesting of olive ridley turtles, Odisha is the only state in India that sees mass nesting of olive ridley turtles.
- Rushikulya and Gahirmatha are the two principal mass nesting sites at this point in Odisha.
