On February 4, residents of Palavakkam will witness a rare run. Participants of this run will run along with their pets to save Olive Ridley turtles.
“Ridley Run”, as it is called, is being organised by Save a Turtle, a turtle conservation volunteer group, along with ezoneINDIA, an experiential learning firm, at the Palavakkam beach.
For the runners, there are three categories to choose from — a 1km, 3km and a 5km run. The runners will receive a certificate and a medal at the finish line. In the month of March, the participants will be treated to a unique sight — baby turtles waddling into the sea.
The pet-friendly run seeks to draw participants across age groups to ensure wider awareness about the vulnerable situation of sea turtles.
“The highlight of the run is to be able to bid farewell to the baby turtles,” says Hafiz Khan, a member of Save a Turtle and CEO of ezone INDIA. Every night, during the Olive Ridley season, volunteers of Save A Turtle, led by Youssef Labidi, a volunteer from Tunisia, walk along the coast, on East Coast Road and in Besant Nagar, in search of turtle eggs. It may be noted that Labidi has walked along the coast for the last three years during the Olive Ridley Season, along with volunteers of SSTCN and the Forest department, to protect the eggs from being destroyed or preyed upon.
The collected eggs are deposited in a hatchery located near the Broken Bridge in Besant Nagar. The hatchery is manned by the Forest department and a team of volunteers. Registration is open at eventjini.com. For more details, call 98405 75555 or visit Fb.com/saveaturtle.in.
Did you know: Only one in every 1,000 baby turtle survives in the sea. Year-on-year, the female turtle comes back to the same place to lay her eggs.
