Hidden Treasure: Marine Turtles
Marine turtles, which are so very important to our ecology and biodiversity, are now endangered. Arabian sea boasts of five species of turtles:
Sea turtles live out their mysterious life totally in the sea. Adult female marine turtles, tugged by their instinct come ashore just for a few hours. For an extremely crucial task, to lay eggs on the beaches. Photos
She crawls out of the sea on a quiet beach in the dead of the night in December to April. With her flippers, digs a pit about a foot and a half deep. She lays 100 to 150 eggs in the pit during . Buries them with the same sand she dug out. And then she vanishes back into the sea. The incoming and outgoing marks of her flippers are the only telltale signs she leaves behind. Turtles do not parent their young and this is the end of her maternal duties for this breeding season.
Unfortunately, with beaches becoming more and more populated, the turtles find it more and more difficult to get a quiet beach for laying eggs. Natural predators like jackal dig out the eggs and feast on them, but more harm is caused by the human apathy. Raiding the unguarded turtle nests for a free high protein diet is not something humans can resist.
As a result, the marine turtles are endangered
- Olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea)
- Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea)
- Green (Chelonia mydas)
- Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata)
- Loggerhead (Caretta caretta).
Read more from Sahyadri Nisarg Mitra