NAVI MUMBAI/ PUNE: An Olive Ridley turtle tagged in 2021 has become the first recorded instance of the endangered species traveling over 3,500km from Odisha’s eastern coast to Maharashtra’s Konkan coast. Tagged with ID number ‘03233’ at Gahirmatha beach in Odisha, the turtle crossed two ocean basins to reach Guhagar in Ratnagiri, where it laid 120 eggs in 2025, of which 107 hatched.
Dr Basudev Tripathy, scientist at Zoological Survey of India, explained that in 2021, ZSI researchers tagged over 12,000 Olive Ridley turtles at Gahirmatha. While these turtles typically return south to Sri Lanka after nesting, turtle ‘03233’ made a rare journey to Arabian Sea, nesting in Maharashtra. This discovery challenges previous theories that turtles on east and west coasts were distinct populations, showing that their nesting sites might be interconnected. Tripathy emphasised the importance of conserving nesting grounds on both coasts.
Dr Suresh Kumar of Wildlife Institute of India suggested that the turtle might have exhibited a dual reproductive strategy, nesting in Odisha and then traveling to Maharashtra for additional nesting. The turtle’s migration has reshaped researchers’ understanding of Olive Ridley migration patterns.
Researchers continue to monitor turtle ‘03233’, aiming to gather more insights into Olive Ridley turtle populations and migration patterns.