50 more Olive Ridleys die in one night in Chennai, death toll may soon hit 500
CHENNAI: The endangered Olive Ridley turtles continue to perish as 40 more carcasses washed ashore between Marina and Neelankarai on Wednesday night, the highest number of deaths recorded on a single night in the stretch. The previous highest was 27 in 2017. Another 10 dead turtles were found between Neelankarai and Kovalam on the same night.
Moreover, a resident from Thangal beach in Tiruvottiyur has reported 11 dead turtles by sharing pictures and videos.
With this the total reported turtle death toll is inching towards an alarming 500. The Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN), which operates in the Marina-Neelankarai stretch, has recorded over 200 turtle deaths as of January 16. From Neelankarai to Kovalam, Tree Foundation has reported 171 turtle deaths, and from Semmancheri to Alamparai another 123 turtles were found dead.
Taking cognisance of the dire situation, the forest department on Thursday picked up a few fresh carcasses from Marina and Injambakkam for postmortem and toxicity analyses. Full carcasses were sent to the Madras Veterinary College and samples were sent to the Advanced Institute of Wildlife Conservation in Vandalur, sources told TNIE. Besides, on the spot necropsy was also performed on a few carcasses in multiple locations.
As per the initial assessment, department sources said the majority of turtles died of drowning, as their lungs were filled with water.
Shravan Krishnan, volunteer at SSTCN and member of the State Board for Wildlife, expressed concern that it may be too late for any kind of intervention since there already seems to be enough damage. “The nesting has so far been abysmal. It is argued that there is high mortality since turtle numbers have increased. If so, the number of nests should have been healthy, but till date not even 10 nests have been found. I fear the egg count will drastically fall this year.”
Supraja Dharani, founder of Tree Foundation, said there are a lot of factors at play behind such a high mortality. Stressing the need for evolving a holistic and inclusive strategy to tackle the situation, she noted that the turtle excluder devices (TEDs) are not being used by trawlers. The fishermen who save drowning turtles can be given a token cash reward as encouragement, she added.
Besides Olive Ridleys, the carcass of a juvenile green turtle — among the largest endangered sea turtle species — was also found near the Sadras fishing village on Thursday. Forest department officials performed a necropsy on it as well before burying it.