China-made drone seized near India-Pak border in Punjab
Acting on a tip off, the BSF troops carried out an extensive search operation in the suspected area.
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Wednesday, 24 April, saved the life of an endangered Olive Ridley turtle near the maritime boundary with Pakistan.
The turtle was entangled in a net at sea off the Indo-Pak maritime boundary line near Gujarat.
In a video posted on Twitter by the ICG, coast guard sailors on an inflatable boat are seen trying to save the turtle by cutting the net in which it is entangled. An ICGS vessel can be seen in the background.
Advertisement
The turtle was safely released into the sea as soon as it was freed from the net.
“In an unique Rescue Operation #CoastGuard Ship rescued a worldwide Vulnerable & Endangered #OliveRidleyTurtle entangled in a net at sea off Indo-Pak #MaritimeBoundaryLine & released her into the sea,” the ICG tweeted while posting the video of the ‘rescue mission’.
In an unique Rescue Operation #CoastGuard Ship rescued a worldwide Vulnerable & Endangered #OliveRidleyTurtle entangled in a net at sea off Indo-Pak #MaritimeBoundaryLine & released her into the sea @World_Wildlife @ourplanet @MissionBlue @physorg_com @NatGeoIndia @WWFINDIA pic.twitter.com/7cpSeExGIy
— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) April 29, 2019
ICGS did not give out details of the patrol vessel that carried out the operation.
Olive Ridley turtles are sea turtles that can be found in warm and tropical waters. Classified as vulnerable species, Olive Ridley turtles often make beaches along the Indian coast as their nesting grounds. Two of such nesting grounds are near Gujarat and one of them – near Rann of Kutch – is close to the maritime boundary with Pakistan.
But most of the major nesting grounds of the turtles are along the west coast of the United States.
The turtles are widely hunted for meat, eggs and hides. Fishery-related practices often led to deaths of a large number of turtles. Many of the turtles get entangled in the nets of trawlers and die as a result.
According to WWF, there are about 8 lakh plus female Olive Ridley turtles in the wild today.
Advertisement
