IN BRIEF: MASSIVE DIE-OFF OF OLIVE RIDLEY TURTLES

In the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary, in Orissa, India, over 1000 Olive Ridley sea turtles have died, days ahead of the 'arribada'or mass egg laying. The the lined a kilometre-long stretch of the sandy beach and more bodies piled up with each passing day.

Official sources said around 1900 bodies were counted till but the total count may be over 5000. There were deep marks of injury on some of the bodies. It isunclear if these wounds were the cause of death, or if scavenging dogs had made them. Last year too, hundreds of turtles were found dead on the same spot - victims of illegal poaching by mechanised fishing trawlers.

Thousands of Olive Ridleys get killed along the Orissa coast every year by getting entangled in the nets of the trawlers that operate illegally in the prohibited zones when these endangered species congregate for mating.

The Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), also known as the Pacific Ridley, is one of the smallest species of sea turtle. It is named for the olive-green color of its heart-shaped shell. It is usually found in the Indo-Pacific and Atlantic oceans.