Rare Green Sea Turtle Spotted In Odisha’s Ganjam

Berhampur: A rare green sea turtle has been spotted on Rushikulya river mouth in Odisha’s Ganjam district on Wednesday night.

According to sources, the Forest officials, who are keeping watch on the eggs laid by thousands of Olive Ridleys during the mass nesting on the see beach of the river mouth, saw the green turtle coming to the beach at around 1 am on Thursday. It moved around for nearly two hours and then went back to sea but did not lay eggs, they said.

Khallikot ranger Siddhant Shankar Sahu told the media that normally, sea turtles including the Olive Ridleys turn up at the river mouth of Rushikulya and Devi and Gahir Matha for nesting. But it is for the first time that a green sea turtle has been found on the beach.

The sea turtle with a length of 1.45 metre and width of 102 cm weighed around 140 kg, he said adding that its cartilage was green colour. The Forest officials, who were deployed to protect the Olive ridley eggs, ensured that the rare sea turtle was not harmed by anyone, he added.