Which of the following statements about the olive ridley turtles is/are correct?
- They are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world.
- They live in warm waters of Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
- The Coromandel Coast in India is the largest mass nesting site for the olive ridley turtles.
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
[amp_mcq option1=”1, 2 and 3″ option2=”1 and 2 only” option3=”2 and 3 only” option4=”1 only” correct=”option2″]
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CDS-1 – 2018
1. They are the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world. This statement is correct. Olive ridleys are indeed the smallest sea turtles and globally the most numerous.
2. They live in warm waters of Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. This statement is correct. Olive ridleys have a wide distribution, inhabiting tropical and warm temperate waters of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.
3. The Coromandel Coast in India is the largest mass nesting site for the olive ridley turtles. This statement is incorrect. While olive ridleys nest on the Coromandel Coast (like near Chennai), the *largest* mass nesting site (known as arribada) in India, and one of the largest globally, is Gahirmatha Beach in Odisha, which lies on the Bay of Bengal coast, north of the Coromandel Coast.
Based on the analysis, statements 1 and 2 are correct, while statement 3 is incorrect.
– They are found in warm waters worldwide.
– India is an important nesting ground, particularly known for ‘arribadas’ (mass nesting events).
– Gahirmatha in Odisha is the most significant mass nesting site in India.