Eight Olive Ridleys radio-tagged to track their movement, nesting and foraging behaviour

THE forest department has radio-tagged eight Olive Ridley turtles to better understand their movements, foraging behaviour and nesting patterns.

- SV KRISHNA CHAITANYA @ Chennai

Two more turtles are expected to be tagged in the coming days, expanding what scientists say is a crucial dataset for protecting one of India’s most threatened marine species.

The project is being implemented in partnership with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and tracks fine-scale movements of turtles released from Chennai’s nearshore waters. Early signals suggest that the turtles spend significant time close to the coast before venturing briefly into deeper waters.