Olive Ridley Turtles

Olive Ridley is one of the smallest of sea turtles with adult reaching to 2-2.5 feet in length and weighing 40-55.5 kg. The diet of Olive Ridley includes crabs, shrimps, rock lobsters, jelly fish and tunicates. The female produce up to hundreds of eggs during nesting. The incubation of eggs takes about 40-50 days and the newly hatched larvae return back to sea after hatching. Morjim in North Goa, Galgibaga and Agonda in South Goa are the three main nesting sites of the Olive Ridley"s in Goa.

The olive ridley is a small extant sea turtle and Olive Ridley”s rarely weighs over 50 kilograms. These turtles are considered endangered because of their few remaining nesting sites in the world. The olive ridley turtle has a cirumtropical distribution living in tropical and warm waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans from India, Arabia, Japan, and Micronesia south to southern Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. In the Atlantic Ocean, it has been observed off the western coast of Africa and the coasts of northern Brazil, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana, and Venezuela.

Nature lovers from far away come to see these turtles in their natural habitat. By staying at Morjim Hermitage it is easy to visit and spot these turtles in their own natural environment. Swim along with the Olive Ridley Turtles on Morjim beach while staying at Morjim Hermitage Holiday Home on Morjim beach in Goa. Olive ridley turtles are best known for their behaviour of synchronized nesting in mass numbers, termed “arribadas”.  In the Indian Ocean, the majority of olive ridleys nest in two or three large aggregations near Gahirmatha in Orissa. In 1991, over 600,000 turtles nested along the coast of Orissa in one week.

Olive Ridley"s Turtles are regularly spotted along the coastline of Goa mainly at the Morjim beach in north of Goa. The Indian Government has launched the National Sea Turtle Conservation Project in 1981. The Forest department of Goa started the Turtle Conservation Programme from the year 1996. Presently in Goa only Olive Ridley turtles are nesting in significant numbers on Goa's beaches.
 
Other nesting sites where sporadic nesting takes place are at Kerim beach, Harmal beach and Ashvem beach in Pernem Taluka(district); Anjuna and Calangute-Candolim in Bardez Taluka; Velsao beach, Senarbatim beach, Colva beach, Benaulim beach  and Betul beach in Salcete Taluka; and Patnem beach, Palolem beach and Kindlem beaches in Canacona Taluka. The success of the conservation effort has boosted eco-tourism in these areas.

Tourists & Travellers staying at Morjim Hermitage Holiday Home can avail of this wonderful experience of visiting a protected area and have a close look at one of nature’s wonders that is the Olive Ridley Turtle.