Olive Ridley · Coromandel coast
SAVEaTURTLE
An advocacy movement for the Olive Ridley.
Nesting season · December to March
Skip the film
180 million years of nesting.
We got here 40 years ago.
The animal
- The smallest of them.
- An olive-green shell, shaped like a heart.
- IUCN Red List: Vulnerable.
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 — Schedule I.
Arribada
800,000 arrive in a season.
One in a thousand hatchlings lives to come back.
The gauntlet
- Trawl netsNets they can’t see.
- Ghost gearLost and abandoned fishing gear.
- PlasticIt looks like food.
- LightBeach lights lead hatchlings away from the sea.
- SandNests lie 45 cm down. Vehicles crush them.
The shore
They nest here.
December to March.
Twenty minutes from most of Chennai.
Chennai · Coromandel coast
Programmes you can join
International Coastal Cleanup
Monthly sweeps, plus International Coastal Cleanup Day every September.
Sand Sculpting
Turtles in sand, built by teams on the Chennai shore.
Awareness Sessions
Schools, colleges, corporates, fisher communities. We come to you.
One in a thousand hatchlings survives.
Dawn
Take the walk.
You will not see a turtle every night.
Next up
The work
Advocacy for the Olive Ridley
We take people onto nesting beaches at night and speak up where beachfront decisions are made. The Olive Ridley nests here from December to March, about twenty minutes from most of Chennai.
What we do
Five programmes
International Coastal Cleanup
Monthly sweeps, plus International Coastal Cleanup Day every September.
Bring a teamNext up
Upcoming events
Dates go up once confirmed. Turtle walks run December to March. Register and we place your group in a batch and email you the night and the beach.
Collaborate
Collaborate with us
Companies, colleges, schools and groups can join us on walks, cleanups and awareness sessions. Everything we do is voluntary.