Five sea turtles rescued in a day, all critical

Mumbai: The Dahanu Rescue and Transit Sea Turtle Centre received five injured sea turtles in five hours on Friday. The turtles were rescued jointly by the state forest department.

While one of them was a juvenile green sea turtle, four others were Olive Ridley turtles. The condition of all these marine animals is critical, said volunteers of the sea turtle centre.

The NGO Wildlife Conservation and Animal Welfare Association (WCAWA) stated that since Friday till Sunday night, around seven Olive Ridley turtles, that are Schedule 1 species, protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, have been rescued and brought into the rehab centre.

“The Olive Ridley turtles have severe injuries in their flippers. They have cut marks in their hind and front flippers which have caused excessive bleeding too. The Green Sea turtle is anaemic and is critical,” said Dhawan Kulkarni, Wildlife Warden in Dahanu and member of WCAWA.

The sea turtles have been rescued from Kelve in Palghar, Dandi in Boisar, Dandepada and Chinchani in Dahanu and Chikhale in Panvel.

The forest department of Dahanu division stated that a team is on their way to treat the injured marine animals.

“We have sent our team along with the veterinary to cater to the injured sea turtles, who would be visiting the site on a regular basis,” said an official from the state forest department.

“Due to the strong wind currents prevailing over the sea, injured animals are washing across the shores of suburban areas. Usually, this phenomenon is witnessed during monsoon,” he added.

For the last eight years, the centre had around 200 turtles admitted with 60 per cent of them successfully being returned to the sea, including Olive Ridley, Green Sea, Hawksbill and Loggerhead turtles.