India’s vast shoreline is home to several species of flora and fauna. One such interesting creature is the Olive Ridley sea turtle. Chetan Rao, a research associate with Dakshin Foundation, an organisation that works on marine issues, tells us, “In India, Olive Ridley turtles come to the shore for the nesting period between late February and early March, along the entire coastline —from Gujarat to West Bengal.”

Pic courtesy/Chetan Rao

There are sporadic nesting sites where they come in few numbers and mass nesting sites. The mass nesting is known as Arribada (Spanish: arrival). In India, mass nesting occurs at Rushikulya and Gahirmatha in Odisha. Rao is currently in Rushikulya for a monitoring project of the mass-nesting site.