An Olive Ridley turtle, tagged with a satellite tracking device at Gahirmatha beach in Odisha, has completed a remarkable 1,000-kilometer journey in just 51 days, reaching the Andhra Pradesh coast. The Odisha Forest Department, led by Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) Prem Shankar Jha, shared this information, highlighting the turtle’s extraordinary migration path tracked via satellite. The turtle traversed the coastal waters of Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry before arriving in Andhra Pradesh, offering valuable insights into its migratory behavior.
This is not the first instance of such a feat. Four years ago, another tagged Olive Ridley turtle from Odisha covered 3,500 kilometers to reach Ratnagiri in Maharashtra for nesting, demonstrating the species’ incredible navigational abilities. The state’s forest department has been using satellite telemetry for years to study these long-distance migrations, aiming to understand the turtles’ routes and nesting patterns.
Olive Ridley turtles annually migrate vast distances to Odisha’s Gahirmatha and Rushikulya coasts for mating and nesting. They lay eggs in the sand, which hatchlings later emerge from, instinctively returning to the ocean and following their parents’ migratory paths. This natural phenomenon has drawn global research interest, with countries studying these marine creatures’ movements.
The tagging initiative, supported by the Wildlife Institute of India, underscores Odisha’s commitment to conserving Olive Ridley turtles. This 480-km coastline serves as a critical nesting habitat, with approximately 300,000 turtles arriving annually for mass nesting, a spectacle that continues to captivate scientists and conservationists alike.
