Turtle deaths

at least 30 carcasses of the Olive Ridley sea turtles were recently found over a two-kilometre stretch between Point Calimere and Vedaranyam in Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu. "The deaths were very recent as dogs, crows and even a wild bear were still feeding on the carcasses," said R Vijayakumar Tondaiman, a conservationist, who visited the area. "The deaths could be attributed to several factors such as sudden change in the salinity of water, feeding habits or naval exercises, if any," says Abdul Rahman, an expert on Olive Ridley turtles. Rahman denied the fact that commercial trawling was responsible for these deaths as such activities were very few in this area.