Odisha-tagged olive ridley turtle travels 1,000 km to Andhra Pradesh in 51 days
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In a remarkable journey that showcases the long-range migration of marine wildlife, an Olive Ridley turtle tagged at Odisha’s Gahirmatha beach has been tracked covering nearly 1,000 kilometres in just 51 days, ultimately reaching the coast of Andhra Pradesh.
According to officials from the Odisha Forest Department, the turtle's route included a path through the sea waters off Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry before arriving at its current location on the Andhra coast. The movement was tracked through a satellite-linked device fitted to the turtle as part of a long-term monitoring initiative.
Prem Shankar Jha, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF), confirmed that satellite data from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) detected the turtle’s presence in the waters off Andhra Pradesh and estimated the total distance covered to be around 1,000 kilometres.
This isn't the first time a tagged Olive Ridley has completed such an extensive journey. In a notable case, another turtle tagged in Odisha four years ago recently traveled over 3,500 kilometres to nest on a beach in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district.
Odisha’s Gahirmatha beach in Kendrapara district, located along the Bay of Bengal, is globally recognised as the largest nesting ground for Olive Ridley turtles. These marine turtles also come in large numbers for mass nesting at the Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district and the Devi river mouth in Puri.
Each year, about 3,000 turtles are equipped with tracking devices. However, marine biologists believe a much larger sample — close to one lakh turtles — needs to be tagged to gain deeper insights into their reproductive habits, migratory patterns, foraging zones, and growth.
The turtle tagging programme was originally initiated by the Odisha Forest Department in 1999, during which some tagged turtles were later spotted near Sri Lanka. The project was later paused and resumed by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) in 2021. Between 2021 and 2024, approximately 12,000 turtles have been tagged at Gahirmatha and the Rushikulya river mouth.