UPSC Current affairs - Olive Ridley Turtles

Olive Ridley Turtles

Context:

• There has been a decline of the population of the Olive Ridley Turtles on India’s east coast especially in the Godavari mangrove region.

Background:

• This region also includes Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary which also nests the olive ridley turtles.
• According to official data, 1,061 turtles arrived at the Godavari estuary in the 2018-19 breeding season (January-April), in which a record number of 89,172 hatchlings were returned to the sea.
• But the number of turtles arriving started falling from the following season. In 2019-20, barely 640 turtles arrived at the estuary, and 2020-21 witnessed the lowest turnout of 471 turtles. In the ongoing season, 501 turtles have arrived so far and more are expected till mid-April.

About Olive Ridley Turtles:

• The olive ridley gets its name from the olive green color of its heart-shaped shell.
• The species is among the smallest of the world’s sea turtles and is found primarily in the tropical regions of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans.
• Olive ridley turtles are found throughout the world. The number of olive ridleys are greatly reduced from historical estimates (for example, 10 million olive ridleys in the Pacific Ocean), due to overexploitation for turtle meat and eggs.
• Bycatch in fishing gear and the direct harvest of turtles and eggs are the biggest threat facing olive ridleys.

Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary

• Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary and estuary situated near Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, India.
• It is the third largest stretch of mangrove forests in India with 24 mangrove tree species and more than 120 bird species.
• It is home to the critically endangered white-backed vulture and the long billed vulture.
• In a mangrove ecosystem the water bodies of the ocean/sea and the river meet at a certain point.

 

Source: THE HINDU.