Radio-tagged turtle, darling of conservationists, makes quick dash across Palk Strait into Sri Lanka after going from Guhagar to Kanyakumari
One of the two turtles tagged on February 23 in Guhagar
Slowly and steadily, the olive ridley turtle, Bageshri, has been making progress in her journey. In what can be termed as the first scientific evidence of this extraordinary journey of one of her kind on the country’s Western coast, the radio-tagged Bageshri, having travelled from Guhagar to Kanyakumari, has now entered Sri Lankan waters.
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On June 18, mid-day had done a story (Ratnagiri se Kanyakumari in just four months) in which it was stated how one of the satellite-tagged Olive Ridley turtles, Bageshri, has travelled from Ratnagiri and reached the southern limit of the Arabian Sea and was 100 km south of Kanyakumari.
Bageshri was radio-tagged on Feb 23. Representation pic/Satej Shinde
Virendra Tiwari, director, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) said, "The radio-tagged turtle Bageshri continues to surprise us. After having travelled all along the Indian coastline from Guhagar to Kanyakumari she made a quick dash across and entered Sri Lankan waters. Now she appears to be heading to the famous coastal city of Galle. The other radio-ragged turtle, Guha, on the other hand is no longer heading south. After coming close to the Kadmat islands in the Lakshadweep, she changed course and is now heading north."
On the night of February 21, a WII team, members of the 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 fitted them with satellite transmitters. The female turtles were given the names Bageshri and Guha.
The Maharashtra coast has sporadic nestings of Olive Ridley Sea Turtles. Till now, Olive Ridleys have been tagged only on the east coast. This is the first satellite tagging project of Olive Ridleys on the Western Coast of India.
The turtle Bageshri’s journey upto June 30
A research project, ‘Tracking the migratory movements of Olive Ridley Sea Turtles off the coast of Maharashtra,’ has been commissioned by the Mangrove Foundation and the Maharashtra Forest Department to the WII. This study will help in understanding the movement of Olive Ridley Sea Turtles off the coast of western India.
The findings of this project will help in understanding the population of Olive Ridley turtles on the western coast of India, their migration pattern, foraging ground and their behaviour. The Mangrove Foundation and Mangrove Cell, Forest Department, are planning to take up more such research initiatives to strengthen turtle conservation in Maharashtra.
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