Olive ridley sea turtles were, for a long time, endangered. Now,
upwards of 1,100 of the precious animals have
washed up - dead - on beaches in southern India.
These turtles are only barely recovering from near-extinction and must be protected at all costs. Sign the petition to demand increased safeguards for the olive ridley sea turtle population!For so many turtles to wash up dead is astounding and heartbreaking. Examinations have discovered that the turtles most likely died as a result of drowning and suffocation, judging from their bulging eyes and lesions in their lungs.
No one knows exactly why more than 1,000 sea turtles would drown, but many experts worry that the culprits could be fishing boats.
Fishing nets are a common way for marine wildlife to wind up trapped and tangled, unable to reach the surface of the water in order to breathe.
Even though local laws exist to protect sea turtles and other wildlife from fishing nets, apparently many commercial fishing operations ignore the laws. In fact, after news of the turtles' deaths went public, the local government in Tamil Nadu discovered a full 24 illegal trawler boats that were in the nearby waters.
We must demand increased protections for these once-endangered sea turtles! Demand a crack down on fishing boats and more wildlife patrols! Sign the petition to prevent another mass death event for olive ridley sea turtles.