SE(A)E Turtles A species classified as Schedule 1 of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act of 1972 (critically endangered) Seven different species of sea (or marine) turtles grace our ocean waters I call these Sea turtles `Anc…
I call these Sea turtles ‘Ancient Mariners’ as they travel the entire world (except in cold waters). Watching these turtles come back from the sea is one of the most intense experiences. This phenomenon happens every year between January to April in coast of India.
Olive Ridley’s get their name from the coloring of their heart-shaped shell, which starts out gray but becomes olive green once the turtles are adults. These sea turtles migrate in huge numbers from the beginning of November, every year, for mating and nesting along the coast. Nesting season starts from January and lasts till end of March. The month of February witnesses a peak. Olive Ridley turtles usually nest during the night.
One of the most striking behavioral characteristics of the Olive Ridley turtles is their mass migrations to the shores for nesting. This phenomenon is referred to as ‘arribada’ (in Spanish: ‘”arrival by sea”) and it involves the gathering of thousands of females offshore of nesting beaches. (The coast of Odisha is one of just three places in the world where this happens).
Male and female turtles travel together and after a mating period of two months or so the males return to deeper waters. The females stay on and after a gestation period of about a month, they start their nesting. Each turtle nests twice each year and sometimes even three times. Each nest can contain from 50 to up to 190 eggs but usually averages 110 eggs. Hatchlings emerge from about 45 to 60 days. 12 to 15 years later the hatchlings that make it to adulthood will return to the very beach where they were born to lay their eggs.
Beach Lights
Young baby turtles when they emerge out of their nests in the beach are programmed to move towards a brighter horizon. When our lights are not around, moonlight and starlight reflected off the sea is what guides them in the right direction. With our powerful lights, now the hatchlings get disoriented and end up moving landward rather than seaward. The babies have enough stored food in them to last only 24 hours and they need to reach their food base (the ocean) within that time.
Sea turtles are part of two ecosystems, the beach/dune system and the marine system. If sea turtles went extinct, both the marine and beach/dune ecosystems would be negatively affected. And since humans utilize the marine ecosystem as a natural resource for food and since humans utilize the beach/dune system for a wide variety of activities, a negative impact to these ecosystems would negatively affect humans.
We can learn from our mistakes and begin changing our behavior; there is still time to save sea turtles from extinction. In the process, we will be saving one of the earth’s most mysterious and time-honored creatures.
We might just be saving ourselves too.
