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Flipper Tags Reveal Turtle Loyalty to Guhagar Beach
2 Feb
Summary
- Tagged Olive Ridley turtles returned to Guhagar beach to nest.
- Four tagged turtles nested at the same site this season.
- Over 407 Olive Ridley nests recorded across Maharashtra's coast.
A pilot exercise utilizing flipper tags has yielded significant insights into the nesting behaviors of Olive Ridley turtles along India's western coast. A female turtle, initially tagged on Guhagar beach in Ratnagiri district on January 31 of last year, was recently observed returning to the same nesting site, identified by tags IND 11109 and IND 11110.
This year, four out of 62 female Olive Ridley turtles tagged in a pilot exercise along the Konkan coast have returned to the same nesting locations. Officials from the Maharashtra forest department view this as strong evidence of nesting site fidelity and a testament to successful conservation initiatives.
The current nesting season has been particularly fruitful, with over 407 nests recorded across 57 beaches in the coastal districts of Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg. This prolific nesting period is ongoing and is projected to continue until March, with February anticipated as the peak month.
Olive Ridley turtles, known for their mass nesting strategy and protected under India's Wildlife Protection Act, are showing resilience. Despite lower nesting numbers compared to eastern coasts like Odisha, Maharashtra accounts for approximately 20 percent of the country's Olive Ridley turtle nests. The nesting season began in November 2025, with eggs carefully relocated to safe hatcheries, and hatchlings released into the sea in January 2026.
Previous seasons also saw substantial nesting activity. The 2024-2025 season recorded 2,929 nests, with over 1.71 lakh hatchlings released into the sea, achieving a survival rate of 62.31 percent.
