Going beyond their regular duties, the Mumbai Police, assisted by a Mumbai-based NGO, helped save a female Olive Ridley turtle, suspected to have been injured by a fishing trawler.
Believed to be more than 25 years old, the turtle was found without the right foreleg. It weighs approximately 15 kg and is 2 to 3 feet in length.
Sub-Inspector Mahesh Gurav of the Juhu station said, “On Thursday, at 6 a.m., my colleagues informed me that an injured turtle had been found at Juhu Chowpatty and local people were trying to set it back in the water. We brought the turtle back to the police station and tried to contact several rescue teams. Finally Nitin Walmiki from the Eco-Echo NGO helped us.”
The turtle was entrusted to the Bombay SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).
‘In good health’Mr. Walmiki, a zoologist at the NGO, told The Hindu , “The turtle is in good health, but because of the loss of a flipper, if we were to release it back into its natural habitat, its survival rate would be less than 20 per cent.” He said that Thane forest officials had agreed to take the turtle after it recovered.
He said this was not the first time that injured turtles have been found on the Mumbai coast. “On an average, approximately 10 Olive Ridleys are found injured every year in Mumbai. Injuries mainly happen during the monsoon season. This year, we have already found two injured turtles and it is only June,” he said. “Trawlers used for fishing in the Uttan-Gorai coastal belt pose a danger. Their nets and propellers are dangerous for the animals.”
Olive Ridley turtles are an endangered species.
