Turtle StoryAuthor Kartik ShankerIllustrator Maya Ramaswamy

When I woke up in the morning the sun was shiningagain I looked around me wondering where I wasAnd then I remembered I was a baby sea turtle - anolive ridley - in the middle of a big blue world which Ihad heard someone call the ocean There was blueand green water in every direction and the sunlightwas playing games with the clouds I tucked myflippers beneath my body and floated for a whileletting the current carry me

I did not know where I was But that does not matterwhen the sun is shining and your stomach is full

The sun warmed me and filled me with new energy

2

Just as I was beginning to think that I would love to spend the rest of my life here a school of fish went by Chasingthem was a really big fish I could tell he was a really hungry fish too When he saw me his eyes lit up ldquoMmmmmrdquohe seemed to be thinking ldquobaby turtle souprdquo

Moments later I was swimming as fast as I could with those big teeth snapping at my little hind flippers

Just when I was beginning to tire I saw a seaweed raft A seaweed raft is just that a floating mass of seaweed anddriftwood that travels around the ocean carried along by the current On and in the raft are the Drifters all thesearsquos little and not-so-little creatures that float around the ocean waiting for something to happen Gratefully Islipped into the raft I would not leave this safe haven for many many years

Being on the raft was like going on a world cruise I enjoyed it very much but as I grew up I decided it was time toexplore the big wide world outside the raft

3

I had heard wonderful things about a place called the Reef where a lot of other turtles lived Everyone said the Reef was the fairyland

of the ocean They said it was full of beautiful brightly-coloured creatures both harmless ones like the clown fish

and poisonous ones like the scorpion fish I wondered how I would find it

4

All of a sudden it became verydark A huge shadow covered meFrightened I looked up only to seethe biggest turtle I had ever seenHis back was soft and leathery Istared A turtle with a soft back Allthe ones I know have very hardbacks

The big turtle caught me staringldquoSurprisedrdquo he gruntedpleasantly ldquoYou shouldnrsquot be Irsquoma leatherback turtlerdquo

5

ldquoGood name Sirrdquo I mumbled

ldquoWhere are you going Sirrdquo I continued ldquoTo the Reefto live with the other turtlesrdquo

ldquoAhrdquo sighed the leatherback ldquoI wish I had that luxuryBut no I am too busy searching for jellyfish They areall I eatrdquo

ldquoWhere do you find themrdquo I asked

6

ldquoOut in the deep deep seardquo said the leatherbackldquoSometimes I have to dive more than a 1000 feet toreach them And sometimes I go all the way to Canadawhere the water gets very cold No other reptile couldsurvive in such cold watersrdquo

ldquoIf it isnrsquot too rude Sirrdquo I said quietly ldquocan I ask howmuch you weighrdquo

ldquoNearly 600 kilograms little onerdquo replied theleatherback looking amused ldquoAnd Irsquom proud of all ofit including the fat For itrsquos the fat that helps me getthrough the long migrations Well I have to be offnowrdquo

7

8

ldquoOf course Sirrdquo I said ldquoBut before you go could youtell me where I might find the Reefrdquo

ldquoThat wayrdquo said the leatherback pointing with aflipper as he swam off

ldquoThank you Sir and happy huntingrdquo I called out as Iswam towards the reef

9

It was on the Reef that I met oldGreen Turtle My friend Hawksbillwhose mouth is curved like ahawkrsquos beak told me old Greenwas nearly 50 years old ldquoMyThatrsquos oldrdquo I said ldquoHow come shelooks so youngrdquo

ldquoWellrdquo said Hawksbill ldquoGreenTurtle eats only sea grass andalgae so it took her nearly 30 yearsto become an adult You and I willbe adults by the time we are tenrdquo

10

ldquoDo you knowrdquo he continuedldquothat when she wants to nest shemigrates to islands in the middle ofthe ocean Clear blue lagoonswhite sand theyrsquore beautifulrdquo

ldquoHave you been thererdquo I asked

ldquoOh yes sometimes you have tocrawl over the coral to get to thebeachrdquo said Hawksbill

11

I shuddered I would hate to crawlover sharp coral Soft sand is whatI like under my soft belly

ldquoYou wonrsquot have to do it donrsquotworryrdquo another ridley told meldquoWe only nest on soft beaches likethe ones on the coasts of MexicoCosta Rica and India But yoursquoll seefor yourself when itrsquos timerdquo

12

ldquoHow will I know itrsquos timerdquo I asked eagerly as she swam awayldquoYou will trust merdquo was all she would say

13

I spent some happy years on the Reef meeting many of my turtle cousinsApart from green turtles and hawksbills I met loggerhead turtles - the ones

with the really big heads - and plenty of other ridleys like me

And then one day just like that I was all grown up and it was time to goHow did I know it was time I donrsquot know Something deep inside me toldme so I knew I had to swim north with all the other ridleys all along the

eastern coast of India until we reached Orissa and lay my eggs on the softbeaches there The little compass in my head would tell me how to get

there

14

ldquoItrsquos only about 2000 kilometersrdquosniffed a loggerhead as he swamoff in a different direction Showoff Just because loggerheads likehim sometimes swim almost 15000kilometres to lay their eggs (fromCalifornia all the way across thePacific Ocean to Japan) I ignoredhim and continued gorging onflying fish my favourite food

The big journey began The water around me was full ofother ridleys like me swimming powerfully

15

It wasnrsquot an easy journey Along the way there were many dangers Though I was now bigger than most of thefish there were still sharks that could catch us

16

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

When I woke up in the morning the sun was shiningagain I looked around me wondering where I wasAnd then I remembered I was a baby sea turtle - anolive ridley - in the middle of a big blue world which Ihad heard someone call the ocean There was blueand green water in every direction and the sunlightwas playing games with the clouds I tucked myflippers beneath my body and floated for a whileletting the current carry me

I did not know where I was But that does not matterwhen the sun is shining and your stomach is full

The sun warmed me and filled me with new energy

2

Just as I was beginning to think that I would love to spend the rest of my life here a school of fish went by Chasingthem was a really big fish I could tell he was a really hungry fish too When he saw me his eyes lit up ldquoMmmmmrdquohe seemed to be thinking ldquobaby turtle souprdquo

Moments later I was swimming as fast as I could with those big teeth snapping at my little hind flippers

Just when I was beginning to tire I saw a seaweed raft A seaweed raft is just that a floating mass of seaweed anddriftwood that travels around the ocean carried along by the current On and in the raft are the Drifters all thesearsquos little and not-so-little creatures that float around the ocean waiting for something to happen Gratefully Islipped into the raft I would not leave this safe haven for many many years

Being on the raft was like going on a world cruise I enjoyed it very much but as I grew up I decided it was time toexplore the big wide world outside the raft

3

I had heard wonderful things about a place called the Reef where a lot of other turtles lived Everyone said the Reef was the fairyland

of the ocean They said it was full of beautiful brightly-coloured creatures both harmless ones like the clown fish

and poisonous ones like the scorpion fish I wondered how I would find it

4

All of a sudden it became verydark A huge shadow covered meFrightened I looked up only to seethe biggest turtle I had ever seenHis back was soft and leathery Istared A turtle with a soft back Allthe ones I know have very hardbacks

The big turtle caught me staringldquoSurprisedrdquo he gruntedpleasantly ldquoYou shouldnrsquot be Irsquoma leatherback turtlerdquo

5

ldquoGood name Sirrdquo I mumbled

ldquoWhere are you going Sirrdquo I continued ldquoTo the Reefto live with the other turtlesrdquo

ldquoAhrdquo sighed the leatherback ldquoI wish I had that luxuryBut no I am too busy searching for jellyfish They areall I eatrdquo

ldquoWhere do you find themrdquo I asked

6

ldquoOut in the deep deep seardquo said the leatherbackldquoSometimes I have to dive more than a 1000 feet toreach them And sometimes I go all the way to Canadawhere the water gets very cold No other reptile couldsurvive in such cold watersrdquo

ldquoIf it isnrsquot too rude Sirrdquo I said quietly ldquocan I ask howmuch you weighrdquo

ldquoNearly 600 kilograms little onerdquo replied theleatherback looking amused ldquoAnd Irsquom proud of all ofit including the fat For itrsquos the fat that helps me getthrough the long migrations Well I have to be offnowrdquo

7

8

ldquoOf course Sirrdquo I said ldquoBut before you go could youtell me where I might find the Reefrdquo

ldquoThat wayrdquo said the leatherback pointing with aflipper as he swam off

ldquoThank you Sir and happy huntingrdquo I called out as Iswam towards the reef

9

It was on the Reef that I met oldGreen Turtle My friend Hawksbillwhose mouth is curved like ahawkrsquos beak told me old Greenwas nearly 50 years old ldquoMyThatrsquos oldrdquo I said ldquoHow come shelooks so youngrdquo

ldquoWellrdquo said Hawksbill ldquoGreenTurtle eats only sea grass andalgae so it took her nearly 30 yearsto become an adult You and I willbe adults by the time we are tenrdquo

10

ldquoDo you knowrdquo he continuedldquothat when she wants to nest shemigrates to islands in the middle ofthe ocean Clear blue lagoonswhite sand theyrsquore beautifulrdquo

ldquoHave you been thererdquo I asked

ldquoOh yes sometimes you have tocrawl over the coral to get to thebeachrdquo said Hawksbill

11

I shuddered I would hate to crawlover sharp coral Soft sand is whatI like under my soft belly

ldquoYou wonrsquot have to do it donrsquotworryrdquo another ridley told meldquoWe only nest on soft beaches likethe ones on the coasts of MexicoCosta Rica and India But yoursquoll seefor yourself when itrsquos timerdquo

12

ldquoHow will I know itrsquos timerdquo I asked eagerly as she swam awayldquoYou will trust merdquo was all she would say

13

I spent some happy years on the Reef meeting many of my turtle cousinsApart from green turtles and hawksbills I met loggerhead turtles - the ones

with the really big heads - and plenty of other ridleys like me

And then one day just like that I was all grown up and it was time to goHow did I know it was time I donrsquot know Something deep inside me toldme so I knew I had to swim north with all the other ridleys all along the

eastern coast of India until we reached Orissa and lay my eggs on the softbeaches there The little compass in my head would tell me how to get

there

14

ldquoItrsquos only about 2000 kilometersrdquosniffed a loggerhead as he swamoff in a different direction Showoff Just because loggerheads likehim sometimes swim almost 15000kilometres to lay their eggs (fromCalifornia all the way across thePacific Ocean to Japan) I ignoredhim and continued gorging onflying fish my favourite food

The big journey began The water around me was full ofother ridleys like me swimming powerfully

15

It wasnrsquot an easy journey Along the way there were many dangers Though I was now bigger than most of thefish there were still sharks that could catch us

16

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Just as I was beginning to think that I would love to spend the rest of my life here a school of fish went by Chasingthem was a really big fish I could tell he was a really hungry fish too When he saw me his eyes lit up ldquoMmmmmrdquohe seemed to be thinking ldquobaby turtle souprdquo

Moments later I was swimming as fast as I could with those big teeth snapping at my little hind flippers

Just when I was beginning to tire I saw a seaweed raft A seaweed raft is just that a floating mass of seaweed anddriftwood that travels around the ocean carried along by the current On and in the raft are the Drifters all thesearsquos little and not-so-little creatures that float around the ocean waiting for something to happen Gratefully Islipped into the raft I would not leave this safe haven for many many years

Being on the raft was like going on a world cruise I enjoyed it very much but as I grew up I decided it was time toexplore the big wide world outside the raft

3

I had heard wonderful things about a place called the Reef where a lot of other turtles lived Everyone said the Reef was the fairyland

of the ocean They said it was full of beautiful brightly-coloured creatures both harmless ones like the clown fish

and poisonous ones like the scorpion fish I wondered how I would find it

4

All of a sudden it became verydark A huge shadow covered meFrightened I looked up only to seethe biggest turtle I had ever seenHis back was soft and leathery Istared A turtle with a soft back Allthe ones I know have very hardbacks

The big turtle caught me staringldquoSurprisedrdquo he gruntedpleasantly ldquoYou shouldnrsquot be Irsquoma leatherback turtlerdquo

5

ldquoGood name Sirrdquo I mumbled

ldquoWhere are you going Sirrdquo I continued ldquoTo the Reefto live with the other turtlesrdquo

ldquoAhrdquo sighed the leatherback ldquoI wish I had that luxuryBut no I am too busy searching for jellyfish They areall I eatrdquo

ldquoWhere do you find themrdquo I asked

6

ldquoOut in the deep deep seardquo said the leatherbackldquoSometimes I have to dive more than a 1000 feet toreach them And sometimes I go all the way to Canadawhere the water gets very cold No other reptile couldsurvive in such cold watersrdquo

ldquoIf it isnrsquot too rude Sirrdquo I said quietly ldquocan I ask howmuch you weighrdquo

ldquoNearly 600 kilograms little onerdquo replied theleatherback looking amused ldquoAnd Irsquom proud of all ofit including the fat For itrsquos the fat that helps me getthrough the long migrations Well I have to be offnowrdquo

7

8

ldquoOf course Sirrdquo I said ldquoBut before you go could youtell me where I might find the Reefrdquo

ldquoThat wayrdquo said the leatherback pointing with aflipper as he swam off

ldquoThank you Sir and happy huntingrdquo I called out as Iswam towards the reef

9

It was on the Reef that I met oldGreen Turtle My friend Hawksbillwhose mouth is curved like ahawkrsquos beak told me old Greenwas nearly 50 years old ldquoMyThatrsquos oldrdquo I said ldquoHow come shelooks so youngrdquo

ldquoWellrdquo said Hawksbill ldquoGreenTurtle eats only sea grass andalgae so it took her nearly 30 yearsto become an adult You and I willbe adults by the time we are tenrdquo

10

ldquoDo you knowrdquo he continuedldquothat when she wants to nest shemigrates to islands in the middle ofthe ocean Clear blue lagoonswhite sand theyrsquore beautifulrdquo

ldquoHave you been thererdquo I asked

ldquoOh yes sometimes you have tocrawl over the coral to get to thebeachrdquo said Hawksbill

11

I shuddered I would hate to crawlover sharp coral Soft sand is whatI like under my soft belly

ldquoYou wonrsquot have to do it donrsquotworryrdquo another ridley told meldquoWe only nest on soft beaches likethe ones on the coasts of MexicoCosta Rica and India But yoursquoll seefor yourself when itrsquos timerdquo

12

ldquoHow will I know itrsquos timerdquo I asked eagerly as she swam awayldquoYou will trust merdquo was all she would say

13

I spent some happy years on the Reef meeting many of my turtle cousinsApart from green turtles and hawksbills I met loggerhead turtles - the ones

with the really big heads - and plenty of other ridleys like me

And then one day just like that I was all grown up and it was time to goHow did I know it was time I donrsquot know Something deep inside me toldme so I knew I had to swim north with all the other ridleys all along the

eastern coast of India until we reached Orissa and lay my eggs on the softbeaches there The little compass in my head would tell me how to get

there

14

ldquoItrsquos only about 2000 kilometersrdquosniffed a loggerhead as he swamoff in a different direction Showoff Just because loggerheads likehim sometimes swim almost 15000kilometres to lay their eggs (fromCalifornia all the way across thePacific Ocean to Japan) I ignoredhim and continued gorging onflying fish my favourite food

The big journey began The water around me was full ofother ridleys like me swimming powerfully

15

It wasnrsquot an easy journey Along the way there were many dangers Though I was now bigger than most of thefish there were still sharks that could catch us

16

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

I had heard wonderful things about a place called the Reef where a lot of other turtles lived Everyone said the Reef was the fairyland

of the ocean They said it was full of beautiful brightly-coloured creatures both harmless ones like the clown fish

and poisonous ones like the scorpion fish I wondered how I would find it

4

All of a sudden it became verydark A huge shadow covered meFrightened I looked up only to seethe biggest turtle I had ever seenHis back was soft and leathery Istared A turtle with a soft back Allthe ones I know have very hardbacks

The big turtle caught me staringldquoSurprisedrdquo he gruntedpleasantly ldquoYou shouldnrsquot be Irsquoma leatherback turtlerdquo

5

ldquoGood name Sirrdquo I mumbled

ldquoWhere are you going Sirrdquo I continued ldquoTo the Reefto live with the other turtlesrdquo

ldquoAhrdquo sighed the leatherback ldquoI wish I had that luxuryBut no I am too busy searching for jellyfish They areall I eatrdquo

ldquoWhere do you find themrdquo I asked

6

ldquoOut in the deep deep seardquo said the leatherbackldquoSometimes I have to dive more than a 1000 feet toreach them And sometimes I go all the way to Canadawhere the water gets very cold No other reptile couldsurvive in such cold watersrdquo

ldquoIf it isnrsquot too rude Sirrdquo I said quietly ldquocan I ask howmuch you weighrdquo

ldquoNearly 600 kilograms little onerdquo replied theleatherback looking amused ldquoAnd Irsquom proud of all ofit including the fat For itrsquos the fat that helps me getthrough the long migrations Well I have to be offnowrdquo

7

8

ldquoOf course Sirrdquo I said ldquoBut before you go could youtell me where I might find the Reefrdquo

ldquoThat wayrdquo said the leatherback pointing with aflipper as he swam off

ldquoThank you Sir and happy huntingrdquo I called out as Iswam towards the reef

9

It was on the Reef that I met oldGreen Turtle My friend Hawksbillwhose mouth is curved like ahawkrsquos beak told me old Greenwas nearly 50 years old ldquoMyThatrsquos oldrdquo I said ldquoHow come shelooks so youngrdquo

ldquoWellrdquo said Hawksbill ldquoGreenTurtle eats only sea grass andalgae so it took her nearly 30 yearsto become an adult You and I willbe adults by the time we are tenrdquo

10

ldquoDo you knowrdquo he continuedldquothat when she wants to nest shemigrates to islands in the middle ofthe ocean Clear blue lagoonswhite sand theyrsquore beautifulrdquo

ldquoHave you been thererdquo I asked

ldquoOh yes sometimes you have tocrawl over the coral to get to thebeachrdquo said Hawksbill

11

I shuddered I would hate to crawlover sharp coral Soft sand is whatI like under my soft belly

ldquoYou wonrsquot have to do it donrsquotworryrdquo another ridley told meldquoWe only nest on soft beaches likethe ones on the coasts of MexicoCosta Rica and India But yoursquoll seefor yourself when itrsquos timerdquo

12

ldquoHow will I know itrsquos timerdquo I asked eagerly as she swam awayldquoYou will trust merdquo was all she would say

13

I spent some happy years on the Reef meeting many of my turtle cousinsApart from green turtles and hawksbills I met loggerhead turtles - the ones

with the really big heads - and plenty of other ridleys like me

And then one day just like that I was all grown up and it was time to goHow did I know it was time I donrsquot know Something deep inside me toldme so I knew I had to swim north with all the other ridleys all along the

eastern coast of India until we reached Orissa and lay my eggs on the softbeaches there The little compass in my head would tell me how to get

there

14

ldquoItrsquos only about 2000 kilometersrdquosniffed a loggerhead as he swamoff in a different direction Showoff Just because loggerheads likehim sometimes swim almost 15000kilometres to lay their eggs (fromCalifornia all the way across thePacific Ocean to Japan) I ignoredhim and continued gorging onflying fish my favourite food

The big journey began The water around me was full ofother ridleys like me swimming powerfully

15

It wasnrsquot an easy journey Along the way there were many dangers Though I was now bigger than most of thefish there were still sharks that could catch us

16

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

All of a sudden it became verydark A huge shadow covered meFrightened I looked up only to seethe biggest turtle I had ever seenHis back was soft and leathery Istared A turtle with a soft back Allthe ones I know have very hardbacks

The big turtle caught me staringldquoSurprisedrdquo he gruntedpleasantly ldquoYou shouldnrsquot be Irsquoma leatherback turtlerdquo

5

ldquoGood name Sirrdquo I mumbled

ldquoWhere are you going Sirrdquo I continued ldquoTo the Reefto live with the other turtlesrdquo

ldquoAhrdquo sighed the leatherback ldquoI wish I had that luxuryBut no I am too busy searching for jellyfish They areall I eatrdquo

ldquoWhere do you find themrdquo I asked

6

ldquoOut in the deep deep seardquo said the leatherbackldquoSometimes I have to dive more than a 1000 feet toreach them And sometimes I go all the way to Canadawhere the water gets very cold No other reptile couldsurvive in such cold watersrdquo

ldquoIf it isnrsquot too rude Sirrdquo I said quietly ldquocan I ask howmuch you weighrdquo

ldquoNearly 600 kilograms little onerdquo replied theleatherback looking amused ldquoAnd Irsquom proud of all ofit including the fat For itrsquos the fat that helps me getthrough the long migrations Well I have to be offnowrdquo

7

8

ldquoOf course Sirrdquo I said ldquoBut before you go could youtell me where I might find the Reefrdquo

ldquoThat wayrdquo said the leatherback pointing with aflipper as he swam off

ldquoThank you Sir and happy huntingrdquo I called out as Iswam towards the reef

9

It was on the Reef that I met oldGreen Turtle My friend Hawksbillwhose mouth is curved like ahawkrsquos beak told me old Greenwas nearly 50 years old ldquoMyThatrsquos oldrdquo I said ldquoHow come shelooks so youngrdquo

ldquoWellrdquo said Hawksbill ldquoGreenTurtle eats only sea grass andalgae so it took her nearly 30 yearsto become an adult You and I willbe adults by the time we are tenrdquo

10

ldquoDo you knowrdquo he continuedldquothat when she wants to nest shemigrates to islands in the middle ofthe ocean Clear blue lagoonswhite sand theyrsquore beautifulrdquo

ldquoHave you been thererdquo I asked

ldquoOh yes sometimes you have tocrawl over the coral to get to thebeachrdquo said Hawksbill

11

I shuddered I would hate to crawlover sharp coral Soft sand is whatI like under my soft belly

ldquoYou wonrsquot have to do it donrsquotworryrdquo another ridley told meldquoWe only nest on soft beaches likethe ones on the coasts of MexicoCosta Rica and India But yoursquoll seefor yourself when itrsquos timerdquo

12

ldquoHow will I know itrsquos timerdquo I asked eagerly as she swam awayldquoYou will trust merdquo was all she would say

13

I spent some happy years on the Reef meeting many of my turtle cousinsApart from green turtles and hawksbills I met loggerhead turtles - the ones

with the really big heads - and plenty of other ridleys like me

And then one day just like that I was all grown up and it was time to goHow did I know it was time I donrsquot know Something deep inside me toldme so I knew I had to swim north with all the other ridleys all along the

eastern coast of India until we reached Orissa and lay my eggs on the softbeaches there The little compass in my head would tell me how to get

there

14

ldquoItrsquos only about 2000 kilometersrdquosniffed a loggerhead as he swamoff in a different direction Showoff Just because loggerheads likehim sometimes swim almost 15000kilometres to lay their eggs (fromCalifornia all the way across thePacific Ocean to Japan) I ignoredhim and continued gorging onflying fish my favourite food

The big journey began The water around me was full ofother ridleys like me swimming powerfully

15

It wasnrsquot an easy journey Along the way there were many dangers Though I was now bigger than most of thefish there were still sharks that could catch us

16

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

ldquoGood name Sirrdquo I mumbled

ldquoWhere are you going Sirrdquo I continued ldquoTo the Reefto live with the other turtlesrdquo

ldquoAhrdquo sighed the leatherback ldquoI wish I had that luxuryBut no I am too busy searching for jellyfish They areall I eatrdquo

ldquoWhere do you find themrdquo I asked

6

ldquoOut in the deep deep seardquo said the leatherbackldquoSometimes I have to dive more than a 1000 feet toreach them And sometimes I go all the way to Canadawhere the water gets very cold No other reptile couldsurvive in such cold watersrdquo

ldquoIf it isnrsquot too rude Sirrdquo I said quietly ldquocan I ask howmuch you weighrdquo

ldquoNearly 600 kilograms little onerdquo replied theleatherback looking amused ldquoAnd Irsquom proud of all ofit including the fat For itrsquos the fat that helps me getthrough the long migrations Well I have to be offnowrdquo

7

8

ldquoOf course Sirrdquo I said ldquoBut before you go could youtell me where I might find the Reefrdquo

ldquoThat wayrdquo said the leatherback pointing with aflipper as he swam off

ldquoThank you Sir and happy huntingrdquo I called out as Iswam towards the reef

9

It was on the Reef that I met oldGreen Turtle My friend Hawksbillwhose mouth is curved like ahawkrsquos beak told me old Greenwas nearly 50 years old ldquoMyThatrsquos oldrdquo I said ldquoHow come shelooks so youngrdquo

ldquoWellrdquo said Hawksbill ldquoGreenTurtle eats only sea grass andalgae so it took her nearly 30 yearsto become an adult You and I willbe adults by the time we are tenrdquo

10

ldquoDo you knowrdquo he continuedldquothat when she wants to nest shemigrates to islands in the middle ofthe ocean Clear blue lagoonswhite sand theyrsquore beautifulrdquo

ldquoHave you been thererdquo I asked

ldquoOh yes sometimes you have tocrawl over the coral to get to thebeachrdquo said Hawksbill

11

I shuddered I would hate to crawlover sharp coral Soft sand is whatI like under my soft belly

ldquoYou wonrsquot have to do it donrsquotworryrdquo another ridley told meldquoWe only nest on soft beaches likethe ones on the coasts of MexicoCosta Rica and India But yoursquoll seefor yourself when itrsquos timerdquo

12

ldquoHow will I know itrsquos timerdquo I asked eagerly as she swam awayldquoYou will trust merdquo was all she would say

13

I spent some happy years on the Reef meeting many of my turtle cousinsApart from green turtles and hawksbills I met loggerhead turtles - the ones

with the really big heads - and plenty of other ridleys like me

And then one day just like that I was all grown up and it was time to goHow did I know it was time I donrsquot know Something deep inside me toldme so I knew I had to swim north with all the other ridleys all along the

eastern coast of India until we reached Orissa and lay my eggs on the softbeaches there The little compass in my head would tell me how to get

there

14

ldquoItrsquos only about 2000 kilometersrdquosniffed a loggerhead as he swamoff in a different direction Showoff Just because loggerheads likehim sometimes swim almost 15000kilometres to lay their eggs (fromCalifornia all the way across thePacific Ocean to Japan) I ignoredhim and continued gorging onflying fish my favourite food

The big journey began The water around me was full ofother ridleys like me swimming powerfully

15

It wasnrsquot an easy journey Along the way there were many dangers Though I was now bigger than most of thefish there were still sharks that could catch us

16

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

ldquoOut in the deep deep seardquo said the leatherbackldquoSometimes I have to dive more than a 1000 feet toreach them And sometimes I go all the way to Canadawhere the water gets very cold No other reptile couldsurvive in such cold watersrdquo

ldquoIf it isnrsquot too rude Sirrdquo I said quietly ldquocan I ask howmuch you weighrdquo

ldquoNearly 600 kilograms little onerdquo replied theleatherback looking amused ldquoAnd Irsquom proud of all ofit including the fat For itrsquos the fat that helps me getthrough the long migrations Well I have to be offnowrdquo

7

8

ldquoOf course Sirrdquo I said ldquoBut before you go could youtell me where I might find the Reefrdquo

ldquoThat wayrdquo said the leatherback pointing with aflipper as he swam off

ldquoThank you Sir and happy huntingrdquo I called out as Iswam towards the reef

9

It was on the Reef that I met oldGreen Turtle My friend Hawksbillwhose mouth is curved like ahawkrsquos beak told me old Greenwas nearly 50 years old ldquoMyThatrsquos oldrdquo I said ldquoHow come shelooks so youngrdquo

ldquoWellrdquo said Hawksbill ldquoGreenTurtle eats only sea grass andalgae so it took her nearly 30 yearsto become an adult You and I willbe adults by the time we are tenrdquo

10

ldquoDo you knowrdquo he continuedldquothat when she wants to nest shemigrates to islands in the middle ofthe ocean Clear blue lagoonswhite sand theyrsquore beautifulrdquo

ldquoHave you been thererdquo I asked

ldquoOh yes sometimes you have tocrawl over the coral to get to thebeachrdquo said Hawksbill

11

I shuddered I would hate to crawlover sharp coral Soft sand is whatI like under my soft belly

ldquoYou wonrsquot have to do it donrsquotworryrdquo another ridley told meldquoWe only nest on soft beaches likethe ones on the coasts of MexicoCosta Rica and India But yoursquoll seefor yourself when itrsquos timerdquo

12

ldquoHow will I know itrsquos timerdquo I asked eagerly as she swam awayldquoYou will trust merdquo was all she would say

13

I spent some happy years on the Reef meeting many of my turtle cousinsApart from green turtles and hawksbills I met loggerhead turtles - the ones

with the really big heads - and plenty of other ridleys like me

And then one day just like that I was all grown up and it was time to goHow did I know it was time I donrsquot know Something deep inside me toldme so I knew I had to swim north with all the other ridleys all along the

eastern coast of India until we reached Orissa and lay my eggs on the softbeaches there The little compass in my head would tell me how to get

there

14

ldquoItrsquos only about 2000 kilometersrdquosniffed a loggerhead as he swamoff in a different direction Showoff Just because loggerheads likehim sometimes swim almost 15000kilometres to lay their eggs (fromCalifornia all the way across thePacific Ocean to Japan) I ignoredhim and continued gorging onflying fish my favourite food

The big journey began The water around me was full ofother ridleys like me swimming powerfully

15

It wasnrsquot an easy journey Along the way there were many dangers Though I was now bigger than most of thefish there were still sharks that could catch us

16

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

8

ldquoOf course Sirrdquo I said ldquoBut before you go could youtell me where I might find the Reefrdquo

ldquoThat wayrdquo said the leatherback pointing with aflipper as he swam off

ldquoThank you Sir and happy huntingrdquo I called out as Iswam towards the reef

9

It was on the Reef that I met oldGreen Turtle My friend Hawksbillwhose mouth is curved like ahawkrsquos beak told me old Greenwas nearly 50 years old ldquoMyThatrsquos oldrdquo I said ldquoHow come shelooks so youngrdquo

ldquoWellrdquo said Hawksbill ldquoGreenTurtle eats only sea grass andalgae so it took her nearly 30 yearsto become an adult You and I willbe adults by the time we are tenrdquo

10

ldquoDo you knowrdquo he continuedldquothat when she wants to nest shemigrates to islands in the middle ofthe ocean Clear blue lagoonswhite sand theyrsquore beautifulrdquo

ldquoHave you been thererdquo I asked

ldquoOh yes sometimes you have tocrawl over the coral to get to thebeachrdquo said Hawksbill

11

I shuddered I would hate to crawlover sharp coral Soft sand is whatI like under my soft belly

ldquoYou wonrsquot have to do it donrsquotworryrdquo another ridley told meldquoWe only nest on soft beaches likethe ones on the coasts of MexicoCosta Rica and India But yoursquoll seefor yourself when itrsquos timerdquo

12

ldquoHow will I know itrsquos timerdquo I asked eagerly as she swam awayldquoYou will trust merdquo was all she would say

13

I spent some happy years on the Reef meeting many of my turtle cousinsApart from green turtles and hawksbills I met loggerhead turtles - the ones

with the really big heads - and plenty of other ridleys like me

And then one day just like that I was all grown up and it was time to goHow did I know it was time I donrsquot know Something deep inside me toldme so I knew I had to swim north with all the other ridleys all along the

eastern coast of India until we reached Orissa and lay my eggs on the softbeaches there The little compass in my head would tell me how to get

there

14

ldquoItrsquos only about 2000 kilometersrdquosniffed a loggerhead as he swamoff in a different direction Showoff Just because loggerheads likehim sometimes swim almost 15000kilometres to lay their eggs (fromCalifornia all the way across thePacific Ocean to Japan) I ignoredhim and continued gorging onflying fish my favourite food

The big journey began The water around me was full ofother ridleys like me swimming powerfully

15

It wasnrsquot an easy journey Along the way there were many dangers Though I was now bigger than most of thefish there were still sharks that could catch us

16

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

ldquoOf course Sirrdquo I said ldquoBut before you go could youtell me where I might find the Reefrdquo

ldquoThat wayrdquo said the leatherback pointing with aflipper as he swam off

ldquoThank you Sir and happy huntingrdquo I called out as Iswam towards the reef

9

It was on the Reef that I met oldGreen Turtle My friend Hawksbillwhose mouth is curved like ahawkrsquos beak told me old Greenwas nearly 50 years old ldquoMyThatrsquos oldrdquo I said ldquoHow come shelooks so youngrdquo

ldquoWellrdquo said Hawksbill ldquoGreenTurtle eats only sea grass andalgae so it took her nearly 30 yearsto become an adult You and I willbe adults by the time we are tenrdquo

10

ldquoDo you knowrdquo he continuedldquothat when she wants to nest shemigrates to islands in the middle ofthe ocean Clear blue lagoonswhite sand theyrsquore beautifulrdquo

ldquoHave you been thererdquo I asked

ldquoOh yes sometimes you have tocrawl over the coral to get to thebeachrdquo said Hawksbill

11

I shuddered I would hate to crawlover sharp coral Soft sand is whatI like under my soft belly

ldquoYou wonrsquot have to do it donrsquotworryrdquo another ridley told meldquoWe only nest on soft beaches likethe ones on the coasts of MexicoCosta Rica and India But yoursquoll seefor yourself when itrsquos timerdquo

12

ldquoHow will I know itrsquos timerdquo I asked eagerly as she swam awayldquoYou will trust merdquo was all she would say

13

I spent some happy years on the Reef meeting many of my turtle cousinsApart from green turtles and hawksbills I met loggerhead turtles - the ones

with the really big heads - and plenty of other ridleys like me

And then one day just like that I was all grown up and it was time to goHow did I know it was time I donrsquot know Something deep inside me toldme so I knew I had to swim north with all the other ridleys all along the

eastern coast of India until we reached Orissa and lay my eggs on the softbeaches there The little compass in my head would tell me how to get

there

14

ldquoItrsquos only about 2000 kilometersrdquosniffed a loggerhead as he swamoff in a different direction Showoff Just because loggerheads likehim sometimes swim almost 15000kilometres to lay their eggs (fromCalifornia all the way across thePacific Ocean to Japan) I ignoredhim and continued gorging onflying fish my favourite food

The big journey began The water around me was full ofother ridleys like me swimming powerfully

15

It wasnrsquot an easy journey Along the way there were many dangers Though I was now bigger than most of thefish there were still sharks that could catch us

16

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

It was on the Reef that I met oldGreen Turtle My friend Hawksbillwhose mouth is curved like ahawkrsquos beak told me old Greenwas nearly 50 years old ldquoMyThatrsquos oldrdquo I said ldquoHow come shelooks so youngrdquo

ldquoWellrdquo said Hawksbill ldquoGreenTurtle eats only sea grass andalgae so it took her nearly 30 yearsto become an adult You and I willbe adults by the time we are tenrdquo

10

ldquoDo you knowrdquo he continuedldquothat when she wants to nest shemigrates to islands in the middle ofthe ocean Clear blue lagoonswhite sand theyrsquore beautifulrdquo

ldquoHave you been thererdquo I asked

ldquoOh yes sometimes you have tocrawl over the coral to get to thebeachrdquo said Hawksbill

11

I shuddered I would hate to crawlover sharp coral Soft sand is whatI like under my soft belly

ldquoYou wonrsquot have to do it donrsquotworryrdquo another ridley told meldquoWe only nest on soft beaches likethe ones on the coasts of MexicoCosta Rica and India But yoursquoll seefor yourself when itrsquos timerdquo

12

ldquoHow will I know itrsquos timerdquo I asked eagerly as she swam awayldquoYou will trust merdquo was all she would say

13

I spent some happy years on the Reef meeting many of my turtle cousinsApart from green turtles and hawksbills I met loggerhead turtles - the ones

with the really big heads - and plenty of other ridleys like me

And then one day just like that I was all grown up and it was time to goHow did I know it was time I donrsquot know Something deep inside me toldme so I knew I had to swim north with all the other ridleys all along the

eastern coast of India until we reached Orissa and lay my eggs on the softbeaches there The little compass in my head would tell me how to get

there

14

ldquoItrsquos only about 2000 kilometersrdquosniffed a loggerhead as he swamoff in a different direction Showoff Just because loggerheads likehim sometimes swim almost 15000kilometres to lay their eggs (fromCalifornia all the way across thePacific Ocean to Japan) I ignoredhim and continued gorging onflying fish my favourite food

The big journey began The water around me was full ofother ridleys like me swimming powerfully

15

It wasnrsquot an easy journey Along the way there were many dangers Though I was now bigger than most of thefish there were still sharks that could catch us

16

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

ldquoDo you knowrdquo he continuedldquothat when she wants to nest shemigrates to islands in the middle ofthe ocean Clear blue lagoonswhite sand theyrsquore beautifulrdquo

ldquoHave you been thererdquo I asked

ldquoOh yes sometimes you have tocrawl over the coral to get to thebeachrdquo said Hawksbill

11

I shuddered I would hate to crawlover sharp coral Soft sand is whatI like under my soft belly

ldquoYou wonrsquot have to do it donrsquotworryrdquo another ridley told meldquoWe only nest on soft beaches likethe ones on the coasts of MexicoCosta Rica and India But yoursquoll seefor yourself when itrsquos timerdquo

12

ldquoHow will I know itrsquos timerdquo I asked eagerly as she swam awayldquoYou will trust merdquo was all she would say

13

I spent some happy years on the Reef meeting many of my turtle cousinsApart from green turtles and hawksbills I met loggerhead turtles - the ones

with the really big heads - and plenty of other ridleys like me

And then one day just like that I was all grown up and it was time to goHow did I know it was time I donrsquot know Something deep inside me toldme so I knew I had to swim north with all the other ridleys all along the

eastern coast of India until we reached Orissa and lay my eggs on the softbeaches there The little compass in my head would tell me how to get

there

14

ldquoItrsquos only about 2000 kilometersrdquosniffed a loggerhead as he swamoff in a different direction Showoff Just because loggerheads likehim sometimes swim almost 15000kilometres to lay their eggs (fromCalifornia all the way across thePacific Ocean to Japan) I ignoredhim and continued gorging onflying fish my favourite food

The big journey began The water around me was full ofother ridleys like me swimming powerfully

15

It wasnrsquot an easy journey Along the way there were many dangers Though I was now bigger than most of thefish there were still sharks that could catch us

16

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

I shuddered I would hate to crawlover sharp coral Soft sand is whatI like under my soft belly

ldquoYou wonrsquot have to do it donrsquotworryrdquo another ridley told meldquoWe only nest on soft beaches likethe ones on the coasts of MexicoCosta Rica and India But yoursquoll seefor yourself when itrsquos timerdquo

12

ldquoHow will I know itrsquos timerdquo I asked eagerly as she swam awayldquoYou will trust merdquo was all she would say

13

I spent some happy years on the Reef meeting many of my turtle cousinsApart from green turtles and hawksbills I met loggerhead turtles - the ones

with the really big heads - and plenty of other ridleys like me

And then one day just like that I was all grown up and it was time to goHow did I know it was time I donrsquot know Something deep inside me toldme so I knew I had to swim north with all the other ridleys all along the

eastern coast of India until we reached Orissa and lay my eggs on the softbeaches there The little compass in my head would tell me how to get

there

14

ldquoItrsquos only about 2000 kilometersrdquosniffed a loggerhead as he swamoff in a different direction Showoff Just because loggerheads likehim sometimes swim almost 15000kilometres to lay their eggs (fromCalifornia all the way across thePacific Ocean to Japan) I ignoredhim and continued gorging onflying fish my favourite food

The big journey began The water around me was full ofother ridleys like me swimming powerfully

15

It wasnrsquot an easy journey Along the way there were many dangers Though I was now bigger than most of thefish there were still sharks that could catch us

16

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

ldquoHow will I know itrsquos timerdquo I asked eagerly as she swam awayldquoYou will trust merdquo was all she would say

13

I spent some happy years on the Reef meeting many of my turtle cousinsApart from green turtles and hawksbills I met loggerhead turtles - the ones

with the really big heads - and plenty of other ridleys like me

And then one day just like that I was all grown up and it was time to goHow did I know it was time I donrsquot know Something deep inside me toldme so I knew I had to swim north with all the other ridleys all along the

eastern coast of India until we reached Orissa and lay my eggs on the softbeaches there The little compass in my head would tell me how to get

there

14

ldquoItrsquos only about 2000 kilometersrdquosniffed a loggerhead as he swamoff in a different direction Showoff Just because loggerheads likehim sometimes swim almost 15000kilometres to lay their eggs (fromCalifornia all the way across thePacific Ocean to Japan) I ignoredhim and continued gorging onflying fish my favourite food

The big journey began The water around me was full ofother ridleys like me swimming powerfully

15

It wasnrsquot an easy journey Along the way there were many dangers Though I was now bigger than most of thefish there were still sharks that could catch us

16

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

I spent some happy years on the Reef meeting many of my turtle cousinsApart from green turtles and hawksbills I met loggerhead turtles - the ones

with the really big heads - and plenty of other ridleys like me

And then one day just like that I was all grown up and it was time to goHow did I know it was time I donrsquot know Something deep inside me toldme so I knew I had to swim north with all the other ridleys all along the

eastern coast of India until we reached Orissa and lay my eggs on the softbeaches there The little compass in my head would tell me how to get

there

14

ldquoItrsquos only about 2000 kilometersrdquosniffed a loggerhead as he swamoff in a different direction Showoff Just because loggerheads likehim sometimes swim almost 15000kilometres to lay their eggs (fromCalifornia all the way across thePacific Ocean to Japan) I ignoredhim and continued gorging onflying fish my favourite food

The big journey began The water around me was full ofother ridleys like me swimming powerfully

15

It wasnrsquot an easy journey Along the way there were many dangers Though I was now bigger than most of thefish there were still sharks that could catch us

16

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

ldquoItrsquos only about 2000 kilometersrdquosniffed a loggerhead as he swamoff in a different direction Showoff Just because loggerheads likehim sometimes swim almost 15000kilometres to lay their eggs (fromCalifornia all the way across thePacific Ocean to Japan) I ignoredhim and continued gorging onflying fish my favourite food

The big journey began The water around me was full ofother ridleys like me swimming powerfully

15

It wasnrsquot an easy journey Along the way there were many dangers Though I was now bigger than most of thefish there were still sharks that could catch us

16

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

It wasnrsquot an easy journey Along the way there were many dangers Though I was now bigger than most of thefish there were still sharks that could catch us

16

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

But the sharks were not as dangerous as the manyfishing nets that we had to swim past

I swam as carefully as I could avoiding all the netsespecially the terrible trawl nets I managed to escapethem all but some of my friends werenrsquot so lucky

Finally I reached the beach of Gahirmatha the placewhere more ridleys nested than anywhere else in theIndian Ocean

It was time to lay my first nest

17

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

We always nest at night I waiteduntil the tide was a little high sothat I wouldnrsquot have that far tocrawl on the beach I came in withthe surf and felt land under me forthe first time since my birth It felt very strange at first SlowlyI dragged myself up the beach tofind a dry spot

18

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Once I had moved past the high-tide line the sand became very dry and flew all around me as I dragged myself forward with my front flippers

It is very difficult to move on land I paused to take a breath and looked up The beach was long and dark

19

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Behind the beach was a huge dune and some bushes I had heard there was a large forest behind this beachcalled Bhitarkanika which was full of saltwater crocodiles king cobras and all kinds of other animals

Then suddenly I saw another animal on the beach It had four legs and it was digging up a turtle nest I went backinto the water as fast as I could Later that night I crawled up again and went up the beach into the Ipomeacreepers

At my chosen spot on the beach I cleared away the dry sand and made a big pit with my hind flippers I am veryfussy about how exactly I do this I always put one flipper in after the other scoop up some sand and throw it out

20

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

21

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

About two feet deep and shaped like a flask with anarrow neck leading into a deep cavity it was abeauty I then began laying my eggs

1 2 3 44 45 99 100 and then I was done

I covered my precious eggs carefully with sand andthumped it down with my body Finally I threw somesand around to make sure that no one would find mynest

Quickly quickly I crawled back into the sea where Ifelt much safer

22

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Two weeks later I was getting ready to nest again We usually makeenough eggs to lay two or three nests during a season My common sensetold me that it would be a good idea to nest again where I had the previoustime It seemed like a good safe place

That night as I was waiting in the shallow water for the tide to be right Inoticed a slight change in the wind It was stronger and blowing from adifferent direction Suddenly I realised that there were hundreds nothousands of other turtles all waiting to nest I knew a lot of other ridleyswere also swimming around in the Gahirmatha waters waiting to nest but Ihad never seen so many together

23

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

24

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

And then we were all rushing up the beach togetherThe beach was already full There were thousands ofother ridleys sand was flying in the air we were allbumping into each other

Finally I managed to find a clear spot and dig a nestfor myself The turtle next to me was in such a hurryshe started to lay her eggs even before she couldfinish digging her nest

I was shocked we turtles never do that

25

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

ldquoItrsquos an arribada ladyrdquo she said ldquowe all get a littlecrazy during this timerdquo

Nobody really knows why we do this But it works forus because millions of hatchlings hatch at the sametime That way most of the little ones escape beingcaught by birds crabs and jackals These days ofcourse we have humans to worry about as well

During an arribada - which means lsquoarrivalrsquo in Spanish - thousands of

olive ridleys come ashore in a frenzy to nest Scientists still arenrsquot sure why

they do this

26

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Finally it is time to leave and return to my feeding ground I will spend a year or two there eating and building upthe energy for another visit to Gahirmatha Green Turtle on the other hand sometimes needs to eat for five or sixyears before she has the energy to make her next journey to nest

As I leave I think of the little ones I have left behind For 50 to 60 days the eggs will remain under the sandwarmed by the sun And then one day they will hatch breaking open their shells with the tips of their snouts Theywill huddle together over a hundred hatchlings under the sand waiting for the sun to set and the sand to cool

Then in the darkness when it is safe they will come out all at once They will see the moonlight bouncing off thesea and know which way to go Hopefully they will be no streetlights to make them go in the wrong direction

27

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

28

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

They will swim against the waves and dive under the oncoming breakers

29

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Oh there will be big fish and small fish out to getthem and seagulls and eagles but some will get awayOut into the open sea where they will find their ownlittle seaweed rafts their floating homes for manyyears

Then they will grow up and perhaps they will come tomy feeding ground Perhaps we will meet though ofcourse I will not know them

Still I am happy knowing that they are out theresomewhere and that someday they will return like meto this very beach to lay their own eggs and start thewhole wonderful circle of life all over again

30

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

A MESSAGE FROM THE OLIVE RIDLEY TO YOU

Sea turtles are in danger worldwide for many reasons Some species ofturtles are killed for their meat which is used to make turtle soup The shellof the hawksbill turtle is used to make tortoiseshell products like eyeglassframes and hair accessories Many turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten bypredators like dogs and crows But the biggest danger comes from fishingMany sea turtles get accidentally caught in a variety of fishing nets drownand die

In India there are many conservation groups that are trying to save seaturtles Each coastal state has one or more such groups

31

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

What can YOU do to protect sea turtles

If you live near a beach where turtles come to nest

bull Help keep the beach clean so that baby and mother turtles do not get hurt

bull Educate the adults in your locality about how streetlights and other lights near the beach can be harmful to turtlehatchlings ndash once they hatch hatchlings figure out where the sea is by looking for the reflection of moonlight onwater so if there are other bright lights in the area they can get confused and wander off in the wrong directionand into danger

bull Find out if your state has a local sea turtle conservation group and see if you can join them

If you donrsquot live near a beach

Read more and more about sea turtles and talk to everyone you know about the dangers they are facingSpreading awareness is a BIG part of conservation

32

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Story AttributionThis story Turtle Story is written by Kartik Shanker copy Pratham Books 2005 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

Other CreditsTurtle Story has been published on StoryWeaver by Pratham Books The development of this book has been supported by Jasmin Infotechwwwprathambooksorg

Illustration AttributionsCover page Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license Page 2 Turtle riding the wave in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 4 Fish and the turtle in the sea by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 5 Three turtlesswimming in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 6 Two turtles swimming abovea big turtle by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 7 One huge turtle in the ocean with somejellyfish by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 8 Turtle swimming in the ocean riding thewave with birds flying above by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 9 Three turtles swimmingabove each other by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 10 Turtles crawling out of the oceaninto the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 11 Two turtles swimming with lots ofcrabs in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 12 A turtle looking into the deepocean by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Illustration AttributionsPage 13 Beautiful underwater life by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 14 Turtle swimmingin an ocean background by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 15 Two turtles swimming inan ocean background by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 16 Shark feeding on a fish byMaya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 17 All kinds of fish trapped in a trawl net by MayaRamaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 18 Turtles mating in the ocean by Maya Ramaswamy copyPratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 19 Turtle crawling out of the water into the beach by Maya Ramaswamy copyPratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 21 Turtle laying eggs in the sand by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 22 Turtle going back to the ocean from the beach by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 23 Countless turtles crawling together on the beach sand by Maya Ramaswamy copy PrathamBooks 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 24 Numerous turtles on the shore by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Somerights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license Page 25 Shadows of humans falling on turtles on the beach by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Somerights reserved Released under CC BY 40 license

This book was made possible by Pratham Books StoryWeaver platform Content under CreativeCommons licenses can be downloaded translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐provided you give appropriate credit and indicate if changes were made To know more about thisand the full terms of use and attribution please visit the following link

Disclaimer httpswwwstoryweaverorginterms_and_conditions

Some rights reserved This book is CC -BY -40 licensed You can copy modify distributeand perform the work even for commercial purposes all without asking permissionFor full terms of use and attribution httpcreativecommonsorglicensesby40

Illustration AttributionsPage 26 Baby turtles hatching out of their eggs in the sand by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CC BY 40 licensePage 28 Countless baby turtles crawling together on the beach after hatching by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released underCC BY 40 license Page 29 Turtles swimming in the ocean with birds flying above the water by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reservedReleased under CC BY 40 license Page 30 Turtle swimming in the ocean water alone by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reservedReleased under CC BY 40 license Page 31 Turtle with crabs background by Maya Ramaswamy copy Pratham Books 2006 Some rights reserved Released under CCBY 40 license

This is a Level 4 book for children who can read fluently and with confidence

(English)Turtle Story

Under cover of darkness baby olive ridley turtles hatch from sun-warmed eggs on remote beaches One of them the little hatchling whois the narrator of our story is delighted to make it across the beach andinto the ocean without losing her way or being captured by predatorsBut can our little olive ridley survive the dangers of the ocean Will shemake it past the deadly sharks and the terrible fishing nets and reachadulthood Will she ever have the pleasure of laying her own brood ofeggs Find out in this charming life story of an olive ridley turtle andmeet several other interesting creatures along the way

Pratham Books goes digital to weave a whole new chapter in the realm of multilingual childrens stories Knitting together children authors illustrators andpublishers Folding in teachers and translators To create a rich fabric of openly licensed multilingual stories for the children of India and the world Our uniqueonline platform StoryWeaver is a playground where children parents teachers and librarians can get creative Come start weaving today and help us get abook in every childs hand