Uniting for Turtles in Chennai: Meet The Volunteers Who Sacrifice Nights to Save Olive Ridleys

Uniting for Turtles in Chennai: Meet The Volunteers Who Sacrifice Nights to Save Olive Ridleys

“Identifying the turtle track amidst the stillness of the ocean provides me an adrenaline rush, which is almost similar to identifying a pug mark and tiger wrinkles during the safari.” Every night, as the city winds down, a small group of dedicated volunteers of Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN) gathers on the shores of Chennai, flashlights in hand, scanning the sand for telltale signs of nesting turtles. They come from diverse fi…

Mass nesting of olive ridleys thrives, but new threats emerge

Research Matters Staff Writer(s) Bengaluru 18 Apr 2025 In March 2025, an incredible spectacle unfolded in Rushikulya, Odisha, as hundreds of thousands of olive ridley sea turtles surged ashore in a breathtaking 'arribada', a mass nesting event that ranks among the largest wildlife spectacles on Earth. The event has drawn attention to the marine turtles and their lives. Now, a new report, detailing 16 years of dedicated research and conservation …