Click image to view larger version

“Could it be true that the Olive Ridley is the deepest-diving hard-shelled turtle?”

RIDDLE ME A TURTLE
Unravelling secrets
Nestled neatly off the east coast of Oman, Masirah Island is the only place in the sultanate blessed with four species of sea turtles, which come to its beautiful shores almost year-round to nest, mostly in different seasons depending on the species.

Loggerheads here are the most important nesting population worldwide. Hawksbills and Greens nest in fair numbers, too. And then there’s the Olive Ridleys. This nesting population is the only substantial one in the Arabian Peninsula and has been studied very poorly. To date, no information at all about their pre- or post-nesting migrations is available, making conservation more difficult. But this mystery is now to be unravelled.

A project attaching satellite transmitters on Olive Ridley turtles with the purpose of tracking their movements over several months, maybe years, was launched recently in Masirah Island. A team of international experts, sponsored by Total’s Muscat branch and Total Corporate Foundation for Biodiversity and the Sea, and under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs, arrived in Masirah in the last week of March and attached nine satellite transmitters on female Olive Ridleys.

In May 2006, it was the same sponsors and scientists who carried out the satellite-tracking project on Loggerhead turtles on the island. Their migrations over two years revealed wonders that now ensure knowledge towards more efficient conservation measures for these ancient mariners, so crucial for the oceans’ survival. The sophisticated scientific work continues this year with the Olive Ridleys.

PROGRESS
Click online
Attaching the transmitter involved walking for many nights along the south eastern beach to locate a healthy turtle, wait for her to lay her eggs and cover her nest properly and then, finally, proceed with our work. This turtle species, the smallest of all, weighing up to 45kg and covering its nest with characteristic thumps of the shell to compact the sand, is thought to be the deepest-diving hard-shelled turtle.
The progress of the turtles can be followed on the Internet here: www.seaturtle.org/tracking/?project_id=278 n

Proin volutpat ante quis est. Donec commodo neque nec massa. Maecenas ultricies semper sem. Praesent sit amet diam at leo varius ultrices. Sed sit amet justo. Donec elementum sollicitudin risus. Sed ornare. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Sed interdum ornare elit. Phasellus mauris.