World Sea Turtle Day:
World Sea Turtle Day is celebrated on 16 June, every year to educate people on the need to conserve the world’s Sea turtles and their habitats.
- Turtles are the world’s oldest reptile groups in existence, across the world found even before lizards and snakes.
- The first few years of a marine turtle’s life are often referred to as the ‘lost years.
- That’s because the time between when the hatchlings emerge until they return to coastal shallow waters to forage is incredibly difficult to study. The lost years they spend at sea – which can be up to 20 years – largely remain a mystery to humans.
- The seven species of sea turtle are Loggerhead, Green, Leatherback, Hawksbill, Olive Ridley, Kemp’s Ridley, and Flatback. Out of these seven, two species, Hawksbill and Kemps Ridley are considered critically endangered.
- Turtles are found in India, in the coastal states of Odisha, Chennai, and Maharashtra.
- The country is home to five exquisite varieties of turtles, namely:
- Olive Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea)
- Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
- Hawksbill Turtle (Eretmochelys imbricate)
- Leathery Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
- Eastern Mud turtle (Kinosternun subrubum subrubum)
- India’s famous Green Sea turtles are the largest hard-shelled sea turtles and are about 120 cms in length and 136-159 kgs in weight.
