Maharashtra: Two Olive Ridley turtles get satellite-tagged at Guhagar

On February 23, the turtles were returned to the sea

Two Olive Ridley turtles were satellite-tagged at Guhagar Beach on Wednesday, as part of a project mooted by the mangrove cell. The female turtles have been given the names Bageshri and Guha.

On the night of February 21, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) team, Mangrove Foundation, and the Maharashtra Forest Department's Ratnagiri Division patrolled the Guhagar beach, and two female Olive Ridley turtles that had come to nest on the beach, were restrained after they had nested. On February 23, the turtles were returned to the sea in the morning after the WII team had fitted them with satellite transmitters.

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Dr Manas Manjrekar, Deputy Director, Research and capacity building Mangrove and Marine Biodiversity Foundation of Maharashtra said, "Under the Olive Ridley turtle satellite-tagging programme [a collaborative project of the Mangrove Foundation, Maharashtra Forest Dept- Ratnagiri Division and the Wildlife Institute of India] two Olive Ridley turtles were satellite-tagged at Guhagar beach. The female turtle have been named as Bageshri and Guha and have been released into the sea."

The mangrove cell and WII successfully tagged five Olive Ridley turtles last year. Members from WII, the Mangrove Foundation team, and local forest staff were involved in the monitoring. Olive Ridley sea turtles sporadically nest along the coast of Maharashtra.