In Tamil Nadu, the Villupuram Forest Department will soon be establishing its second artificial hatchery for the endangered Olive Ridley turtles along the district’s coastline as part of its conservation initiative to protect turtle nests.
- The Forest Department, with the help of youth from Vasuvankuppam and surrounding villages near Marakkanam, have identified 39 turtle nests from 16 villages on the coastline and collected about 4,168 eggs since the commencement of the nesting season.
- The Villupuram coastline falls on the migratory route to Odisha used by these turtles.
About Olive Ridley
- Olive Ridley is listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
- The Olive Ridley is one of only two species of sea turtles that engage in ‘arribada’ nesting (Spanish for mass migration), where large groups of females assemble at a nesting site on the beach.
- Olive Ridley is one of the eight species of sea turtles. Olive and Kemp’s ridleys are the smallest of the sea turtles, weighing up to 100 pounds and reaching only about 2 feet in shell length.
- The olive Ridley is mostly carnivorous, feeding on such creatures as jellyfish, snails, crabs, and shrimp. Olive Ridleys have nesting sites all over the world, on tropical and subtropical beaches.
GS TIMES UPSC PRELIMS & MAINS CURRENT AFFAIRS BASED BASICS DAILY ONLINE TEST CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS QUIZ FOR STATE CIVIL SERVICES
