Veles Turtle Conservation Trip
PLEASE READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS CAREFULLY
The term ‘festival’ is not to showcase or display these marine turtles at the Velas beach. The sea turtles are protected under the 'Migratory Species Convention' and CITES (Convention of International Trade on Wildlife Flora and Fauna). India is a signatory nation to all these conventions. The 'Homing' characteristics of the Ridley sea turtles make them more prone to mass casualty. The conservation status of Olive Ridley turtles is considered ‘vulnerable’ and currently on the list of endangered species. There are several reasons why their population has decreased, one of them is getting habitat loss and eaten up by carnivores.
In an attempt to prevent this mass destruction, the Velas Turtle festival is an effort by the locals. The project involves in preserving the Olive Ridley sea turtle population by collecting the Olive Ridley turtle eggs along the coast and after 45-60 days successfully releasing the hatchlings into the sea in a phased manner.
Only when the hatchlings are ready they are taken for the release, thus it is a complete natural phenomenon and one cannot promise how many hatchlings entering the sea can be witnessed. We will be visiting the release 3 times (day 2 morning and evening, day 3 morning) during this trip to maximise our chances of seeing the baby turtles sticking their head out of the sand and taking the first breath of fresh salty sea air