Turtle, tagged with tracking device in Odisha, travels 1000 kms in 51 days

The turtle traversed the waters of Sri Lanka, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu before reaching the coast of the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, he said. 

"The turtle navigated through the sea waters of Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, and reached the Andhra Pradesh coast in 51 days. It covered around 1,000 kms," the official said. The latest satellite tracking map of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has located one of the tagged turtles moving in the sea waters in Andhra Pradesh, and found that it has navigated around 1,000 km, said Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (PCCF) Prem Shankar Jha. A turtle, tagged with a tracking device in Odisha four years back, had earlier covered 3,500 kilometres to lay eggs at a beach in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra recently. 

The Olive Ridley turtles turn up in millions for mass nesting along the Odisha coast every year. Gahirmatha beach, off the Bay of Bengal, in Kendrapara district is acclaimed as the World's largest known nesting ground of these marine species. The aquatic animals also turn up at the Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district and the Devi river mouth in Puri for mass nesting. -- PTI