Chennai locals patrol beaches to save Olive Ridley turtles, protect eggs I Photos

Chennai volunteers walk beaches nightly to protect Olive Ridley turtles, saving eggs, amid threats from lights, nets, and coastal development.  ...read more

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Published on Apr 16, 2025 05:43 PM IST

Residents of Chennai, have been patrolling moonlit beaches at night in an effort to save sea turtles and their young, which have been nesting along the shores for thousands of years. In pic: Policemen inspect Olive Ridley turtles at Kovalam Beach in Chennai on Saturday. (ANI)

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Published on Apr 16, 2025 05:43 PM IST

The olive ridley turtles and their eggs, which can take up to 60 days to hatch, are at risk from hungry canines, locals searching for a feast, and confusing lighting.(AP)

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Published on Apr 16, 2025 05:43 PM IST

Over 260,000 turtle eggs have been gathered and protected this year by locals in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state.(AP)

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Patrollers search the beaches for turtle nesting sites or little mounds of sand that could be signs of buried eggs. Hundreds of turtles have been killed in the area this year alone as a result of being caught in fishing nets offshore.(AFP)

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When they discover a cache of eggs, they move them to a safe location and rebury them at the same depth as before. This is important since the turtles' sex is influenced by the temperature. In pic: People take pictures of newly-hatched olive ridley turtles released by wildlife division officials along a beach in Chennai. (AP)

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When a cache of eggs is discovered, they are moved to a safe location and reburied at the same depth as before. This is important since the turtles' sex is influenced by the temperature. In pic: Newly-hatched olive ridley sea turtles crawl towards the Bay of Bengal at a beach, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. (PTI)

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Published on Apr 16, 2025 05:43 PM IST

During the months of December through April, when turtles are nesting, the patrols start at midnight every day. In pic: Tamil Nadu Forest Department officials and volunteers release newly-hatched olive ridley sea turtles from a hatchery at the beach, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. (AP)

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One volunteer spotted the eggs by excavating a potential nesting location until his hand was elbow-deep in the sand, as reported by the Associated Press. With great care, he and other volunteers removed the eggs, counting 137 in all. They were taken to a neighbouring hatchery, where they were safe, in a cotton bag. In pic: Volunteers, along with forest department staff members, collect the eggs of Olive Ridley sea turtles at Marina Beach in Chennai (AP)

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A police personnel examines the carcasses of endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles that were washed ashore at Kovalam Beach on the outskirts of Chennai. (AFP)

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Volunteers gather the carcasses of endangered olive ridley sea turtles to bury after they washed ashore on Kovalam beach, on the outskirts of Chennai. (AP)