Question

Prepare a short note on sea turtles with the help of the information given in the passage.

Answer 1

Sea Turtles are aquatic animals playing an important function in marine ecology - they keep the sea clean. Out of the seven species of sea turtles, five are found in India. Green turtles, Hawksbills, and Olive Ridley turtles are the three species of sea turtles that are found in Maharashtra. The Olive Ridley sea turtles nest all along the coast of Maharashtra. The female turtle comes to the shore only to lay eggs and then return back to the sea. They do not visit the nest again. The nest is just half a metre deep in the sand and holds around 100 -150 eggs. These eggs hatch using natural heat after a period of forty to forty-five days and the hatchlings rush back to the sea. An amazing fact is that all female turtles from these young hatchlings later come to the same place to lay their eggs after they mature. The only danger is the sea as the young ones are too weak to protect themselves. So only a few survive from a full nest. Besides that, the turtle eggs are also sold and eaten. It is important to protect these turtles on a large scale all over the world as they are now an endangered species.