Geographical analysis

Abstract

The Olive Ridley Sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) is a medium-sized species of sea turtle found in warm and tropical waters, primarily in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The olive ridley is a small sea turtle, with an adult carapace length averaging 60 to 70 cm. The heart-shaped carapace is characterized by four pairs of pore-bearing inframarginal scutes on the bridge, two pairs of prefrontals, and up to 9 lateral scutes per side. Olive ridleys are unique in that they can have variable and asymmetrical lateral scute counts ranging from five to 9 plates on each side, with six to eight being most commonly observed. Each side of the carapace has 12–14 marginal scutes. In the Indian Ocean, the majority of olive ridleys nest in two or three large groups near Gahirmatha in Odisha, Chennai and Nagappattinam coast in Tamilnadu. In 1991, over 600,000 turtles nested along the coast of Odisha in one week. Nesting occurs elsewhere along the Coromandel Coast and Sri Lanka, but in scattered locations. Nagapattinam district Department of forests collects more than 100,000 eggs every year and established the artificial hatcheries all along the coast. Nagapattinam district forest department formed three Forest Ranges. Sirkazhi, Nagapattinam, Vedaranyam. The entire Nagapattinam district coast line covered these three ranges. They are established temporary artificial hatcheries. The turtle eggs collected all along the coastal line. Nests were found during month end of December to March. After collecting the eggs from the wild, they were buried in the hatchery clutch-wise and their progress was monitored on a daily basis. The normal incubation period of an Olive Ridley egg is 50 - 60 days. The hatchlings were released in the sea soon after they had emerged from their nests.

Keywords: Olive Ridley; Sea Turtle; Hatchling; Nesting; Hatcheries; Nagapattinam