Olive Ridley Sea Turtles
Why in news : The mass nesting of the olive ridley sea turtles which is called as ARRIBADA has begun on the gahirmata beach.
Key points related to olive ridley sea turtles :
- The olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle.
- The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world.
- They are found in warm and tropical waters, primarily in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, but also in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
- This turtle and the related Kemp’s ridley turtle are best known for their unique synchronised mass nestings called
- ARRIBADA is a process where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs.
DISTRIBUTION :
IN WORLD :
The olive ridley turtle has a circumtropical distribution, living in tropical and warm waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans from India, Arabia, Japan, and Micronesia south to southern Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
IN INDIA :
In the Indian Ocean, three arribada beaches occur in Odisha, India (Gahirmatha, Devi River mouth, and Rushikulya) with an estimated +100,000 nests per year.
More recently, a new mass nesting site was discovered in the Andaman Islands, India, with more than 5,000 nests reported in a season.
DISTRIBUTION OF OLIVE RIDLEY TURTLE IN WORLD :
DISTRIBUTION OF OLIVE RIDLEY TURTLE IN INDIA :
- Conservation status :
- IUCN status : vulnerable
- Wildlife protection act : schedule-I.
- THREATS :
- Marine pollution and related waste.
- Plastic waste from landfills.
- Oilspills and related pollution.
- Poaching for their skin and shells.
- Over exploitation of marine resources.
- Wrong fishing practices.
SYLLABUS : PRELIMS, ENVIRONMENT-SPECIES.