Hundreds of dead, vulnerable sea turtles washed up on South Asian beaches last week near the city of Chennai, India. These turtles were identified as olive ridley turtles, an endangered species that once claimed the largest population of sea turtles on Earth.
Why are these creatures washing up? Olive ridley turtles typically travel thousands of miles to find ideal nesting sites. However, during this journey, they often encounter dangers, such as becoming bycatch in fishing equipment.
Over 400 olive ridley turtles washed ashore in just two weeks. While this number is staggering, it pales in comparison to the 900 turtles that washed up a decade ago. Researchers assert that fishing nets trawling the ocean floor near turtle nesting areas pose the greatest threat to endangered turtle species.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the AZ Animals editorial team
Thank you for your feedback!
We appreciate your help in improving our content.
Our editorial team will review your suggestions and make any necessary updates.
There was an error submitting your feedback. Please try again.