Olive Ridley Turtles

Nearly 700,000 Olive Ridley turtles have laid eggs at Odisha's Rushikulya rookery during an eight-day mass nesting period.

• About Olive Ridley Turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) It’s named after the olive-green colour of its heart-shaped shell.
• Size & Habitat: Among the smallest sea turtles, found in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans, primarily in tropical regions.
• Diet: Carnivorous, feeding on jellyfish, shrimp, snails, crabs, mollusks, fish, and their eggs.
• Major Nesting Sites in India: Odisha’s Gahirmatha, Devi River mouth, and Rushikulya beaches host over 100,000 nests annually.
• Arribada: Mass nesting phenomenon where thousands of females gather to lay eggs on the same beach.
• Nesting Behaviour: Females return to the same beach where they hatched to lay eggs.
• Eggs hatch in 45-65 days, and hatchlings move toward the ocean.
• Global Nesting Sites: Odisha is the largest mass nesting site, followed by Mexico and Costa Rica.
• Population Decline: 30-50% global population reduction (IUCN estimates).
• Poaching & Exploitation: Despite a CITES Appendix I ban, turtles are still poached for meat, shell, leather, and eggs.
• Conservation Measures:

o Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs): Odisha government mandates TEDs in trawl nets to reduce accidental turtle deaths.

o Operation Olivia: Launched in the 1980s by the Indian Coast Guard.

• Metal Tagging: Started in 2021 by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and Odisha’s Forest Department.

o Non-corrosive metal tags help track movements and identify key habitats.

• Legal Protection:

o IUCN Status: Vulnerable

o Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I

o CITES: Appendix I