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Olive Ridley Turtle

The Forest Department in Ramanathapuram district Tamil Nadu rescued an adult Olive Ridley turtle that was caught in a fishing net and released it into the Palk Bay at Panaikulam seashore.

The nesting season for Olive Ridley turtles starts by December.
The mating of these turtles happen two months prior to the nesting.
So, it is common to find turtles within one km from the shore during this time of the year.
It is because of this reason that turtles often get entangled in the fishing net during this period.

These are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world.
These turtles are carnivores and get their name from their olive colored carapace.
They are found in warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.
They migrate thousands of kilometers between feeding and mating grounds in the course of a year.
They are best known for their unique mass nesting called Arribada, where thousands of females come together on the same beach to lay eggs.
They lay their eggs over a period of five to seven days in conical nests about one and a half feet deep which they dig with their hind flippers.