Turtle Walk - to save Olive Ridley

Formed by the students of the Madras Christian College, the (Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network) SSTCN has been organizing turtle walks for the past 14 years. Every Friday and Saturday, the volunteers gather at 10.30 p.m. near Neelankarai beach. They cover 7 km along the coast between Elliots Beach and Neelankarai.

 

They follow the nest by following the turtle tracks, collect the eggs and place them in a temporary hatchery in Neelankarai. The volunteers stay at the hatchery every night till the eggs hatch, which is in about 50 days. These hatch lings are then released into the sea.

SAFE TRANS LOCATION: Volunteers of Sea Turtle Protection Force relocating Olive Ridley sea turtle eggs into a hatchery in Nainarkuppam.

A commendable effort considering the Olive Ridley is an endangered species, whose numbers have been dwindling over the years. And it is only efforts like these that can save such species. So let's hope more helping hands will come forward to carry on the good work. And start a campaign too advocating the use of TEDs (Turtle Excluder Devices)!

Hatchings making for the sea...

Preparing yourself: It would be better if you are wearing walking/running shoes or anything else you might feel comfortable in. It could also be cold and while you may not feel it while walking, you will after the walk. So take something warm with you. And, after walking in the sand for kilometers on end, believe me, you'll be thirsty. So remember to take a large bottle of drinking water. Most of all, be prepared to enjoy yourself. The walk is open to public on Friday and Saturday.

For more details contact: Sanjeev Gopal, 30 / 1 Flat # 12, Sunder Enclave, Valmiki Street, Tiruvanmiyur Chennai - 600 041. Phone: 2441 1937.

Top 25 wild life destinations of India

25 wild life destinations.

Corbett Tiger Reserve (Uttaranchal)
Habitat: Northern most deciduous dominated by sal, northern tropical dry decidious, Himalayan subtropical pine forests
Wildlife: Elephants, Tigers, Gharials, birds
Closest Town/City: Nainital (85 km)
Best time to visit: November - April

Gangotri National Park (Uttaranchal)
Habitat: Himalayan moist temperate type vegetation consists of chirpine deodar, fir, spruce, oak and rhododendrons
Wildlife: Lammergeirs, bharal, Himalayan black bears
Closest Town/City: Dehradun (210 km)
Best time to visit: February - May

Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary (Uttaranchal)
Habitat: Moist mixed deciduous forests, temperate moist coniferous forests, sublpine birch, fir and spruce forests and sub-pine pasture and scrub
Wildlife: Goral, birds, butterflies, leopards
Closest City/Town: Almora (25 km)
Best time to visit: September - March

Valley of Flowers National Park (Uttaranchal)
Habitat: Alpine meadows and sub alpine forests shelter about 500 species of flowering plants. A large portion of the park is covered with glaciers.
Wildlife: Flowering plans and butterflies
Closest City/Town: Joshimath (33 km)
Best time to visit: July - August

Great Himalayan National Park (Himachal Pradesh)
Habitat: Confluence of temperate and alpine forest types with a mix of oak and conifers
Wildlife: Musk deer, Himalayan black bears, snow leopards
Closest City/Town: Kullu (55 km)
Best time to visit: April - June & September-October

Gir National Park (Gujarat)
Habitat: Semi-arid and deciduous forest, stunted deciduous forest interspersed with grasslands and scrubland.
Wildlife: Asiatic Lions, leopards, birds
Closest City/Town: Junagarh (58 km)
Best time to visit: November - March

Little Rann (wild ass) Sanctuary (Gujarat)
Habitat: Predominantly Saline Desert. Some areas are semi-arid
Wildlife: Asiatic wild ass, chinkara, wolves, striped hyenas
Closest City/Town: Ahmedabad (105 km), Rajkot (140 km)
Best time to visit: December - March

Ranthanbhore Tiger Reserve (Rajasthan)
Habitiat: Dry deciduous habitat dominated with dhak trees. Three lakes form the life support system for the park.
Wildlife: Tigers, leopards, birds
Closest City/Town: Sawoi Madhopur (12 km)
Best time to visit: December - April

Keoladeo Ghana National Park (Rajasthan)
Habitat: Man-made wetland; semi-arid and thorn forest with small patches of grass land.
Wildlife: Migratory birds, rock python, Indian monitor, jackals
Closest City/Town: Bharatpur (5 km)
Best time to visit: November - February

Melghat Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra)
Habitat: Dry deciduous forest with teak and bamboo
Wildlife: Birds, tigers, guars
Closest City/Town: Amaravati (100 km)
Best time to visit: December - March

Tadoba Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra)
Habitat: Southern tropical deciduous forest with teak and bamboo
Wildlife: Tigers, dhole, birds
Closest City/Town: Chandrapur (45 km)
Best time to visit: November - April

Netravali Wild Life Sanctuary (Goa)
Habitiat: Westcoast tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, moist deciduous forests.
Wildlife: Birds, reptiles, amphibians
Closest City/Town: Dabolim (55k km)
Best time to visit: August - February

Kanha TigerReserve (Madhya Pradesh)
Habitiat: Mixed deciduous on the plains and dry deciduous woodland on hilltops and slope.
Wildlife: Tigers, swamp deers, birds
Closest City/Town: Jabalpur (160 km)
Best time to visit: November - March

Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh)
Habitiat: Indus-Ganges Monsoon forest type mainly consisting of semi-evergreen sal forests mixed with Terminalia and mixed bamboo species.
Wildlife: Tigers, birds
Closest City/Town: Umaria (35 km)
Best time to visit: December - April

Bandipur Tiger Reserve (Karnataka - Tamilnadu)
Habitiat: Dry deciduous scrub, southern tropical dry deciduous and southern tropical moist mixed deciduous forests.
Wildlife: Elephants, tigers, dhole, guar, four-horned antelope, birds, reptiles, butterflies
Closest City/Town: Mysore (78 km)
Best time to visit: January - May, September - October

Periayar Tiger Reserve (Kerala)
Habitiat: Mostly tropical evergreen forests and semi-evergreen forests, occassionally broken by large areas of grasslands.
Wildlife: Elephants, guar, birds, reptiles, butterflies
Closest City/Town: Kottayam (112 km), Madurai (140 km)
Best time to visit: November - April

Silent Valley National Park (Kerala)
Habitiat: West coast tropical evergreen, semi-evergreen and secondary evergreen, souther tropical hill savannah woodland, southern montane wet scrub and grassland.
Wildlife: Birds, reptiles, amphibians
Closest City/Town: Palakkad (58 km), Coimbatore (90 km)
Best time to visit: July - February

Annamalai (Indira Gandhi) National Park (Tamilnadu)
Habitiat: Dry deciduous, evergreen, semi-evergreen and montane wet temperate forests.
Wildlife: Elephants, Birds, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies
Closest City/Town: Coimbatore (80 km)
Best time to visit: September - April

Mahatama Gandhi Marine (Wandur) National Park (Andamans)
Habitiat: Mangrove forest; tropical evergreen and moist deciduous forests on the sorrounding landmass. Majority of the water dominated by coral reef.
Wildlife: Corals, tropical fish, molluscs, salt-water crocodiles, birds
Closest City/Town: Port Blair (29 km)
Best time to visit: December - March

Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary (Orissa)
Habitiat: Mangrove forest along creek and estuaries - an amalgamation of sea and freshwater habitat.
Wildlife: Turtles, king cobra, water monitor, crustaceans
Closest City/Town: Bhubaneshwar (190 km), Cuttack (77 km)
Best time to visit: December - March

Sunderbans Tiger Reserve (West Bengal)
Habitiat: Dense mangrove forests with several rivers, creeks and estuaries. Most of the area consists of inaccessible swamps.
Wildlife: Tiger, mangroves, water monitor, crustaceans
Closest City/Town: Jorhat (98 km), Guwahati (230 km)
Best time to visit: December - April

Kaziranga National Park (Assam)
Habitiat: Alluvial grassland, deciduous woodland scattered through the grassland, semi-evergreen forest and tropical wet evergreen forests
Wildlife: One-horned rhinoceros, swamp deer, common otters, gangetic dolphins
Closest City/Town: Kolkata (160 km)
Best time to visit: December - March

Manas Tiger Reserve (Assam)
Habitiat: Tropical semi-evergreen forests, tropical moist and dry deciduous forests and extensive alluvial grasslands.
Wildlife: Birds, hispid hare, pygmy hogs, golden langur
Closest City/Town: Guwahati (180 km)
Best time to visit: December - March

Eagle's Nest Wildlife Sanctuary (Arunachal Pradesh)
Habitat: Wet temperate evergreen dominated with bamboo. Heavily logged regions - with pine, birch broad leaved oak and rhododendron.
Wildlife: Birds, reptiles, amphibians, yellow throated martens
Closest City/Town: Guwahati (328 km)
Best time to visit: October - April

Namdapha Tiger Reserve (Arunachal Pradesh)
Habitiat: Wet evergreen rainforests, moist mixed deciduous forests and temperate alpine forests. Namdapha has an astounding diversity of forest types.
Wildlife: Reptiles, amphibians, birds, small cats
Closest City/Town: Digboi (85 km)
Best time to visit: December - April