Karnataka: Olive ridley turtle rescued from Kundapur

MANGALURU: Conservationists rescued a wounded olive ridley turtle from the shores of Beejadi in Kundapur in Karnataka on Tuesday.
Venkatesh Sheregar, a senior programme manager at Field Services and Inter-cultural Learning-India, an NGO, said it was Bharat Bangera from the Clean Kundapur Project, who first sighted the turtle.
“The team found that the turtle was injured on its right flipper and near the heart. The turtle may have hit itself against a fishing boat or may have got entangled in a fishing net. The team immediately contacted Dr Shantanu Kalambi, veterinarian, Reef Watch Marine Conservation, for guidance,” Venkatesh said.
Following this, Dr Vaggesh, a veterinarian, reached the spot and treated the turtle, and it is now under observation. Once the turtle recovers, with support of the forest department, it will be released back into the ocean. The operation was supported by Dr Rashmi and Suresh Sheregar from the Clean Kundapur project. Deputy range forest officer Uday Kumar, forest guard Shankar and Dinesh Saranga from FSL, India, assisted in the rescue.