Save the Olive Ridleys

Dear Reader,

Thanks for stopping by. You could be a part of the effort to bring about environmentally positive changes on the ground, day after day. This time we're asking you to do a little more. Not by pulling out your purse, but with a single mouse-click.

As you're aware, the highly-endangered Olive Ridley Turtles visit India's East Coast every year to mate and lay eggs, and six weeks later their newborn babies make their way back into the sea. Orissa is one of the last places left on the planet where these turtles come together after swimming thousands of miles, from places as far away as Australia and the Philippines.

The species is fragile, it needs protection, it has nowhere else to turn to. If it dies, it takes an entire fragile ecosystem along with it.

But someone's already involved in pushing the remaining Olive Ridleys into extinction. If you've ever taken a taxi, made a phone call, sipped a cup of tea, stayed in a five-star hotel, or worn a wristwatch, chances are you've already met the culprit.

It's the Tatas. They're about to build a huge port in Dhamra, (see map--click on the satellite option to locate the site) close to the turtles' sensitive breeding area, even though alternative sites exist. We believe they can be stopped. This is close to the Bhitarkanika National Park, which is a home to the Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), white crocodile, Indian python, black ibis, and darters. Olive Ridley sea-turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) nest on Gahirmatha and other nearby beaches.

The port Tata is proposing to build in Dhamra will directly affect the Olive Ridley turtles. With 150,000 to 350,000 Olive Ridley turtles nesting in the vicinity, the average number of hatchlings is believed to range from 15,000,000 to 35,000,000.



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The great thing about the Tatas, you see, is that they listen to their customers (that's you) because you make them who they are. That's why we're not asking you to boycott them, we're asking you to make them better.

Ratan Tata has already promised that he won't build the port if there's any evidence of turtles in the area. Several Nature lovers have given him that proof, but he won't listen to them. There's a possibility that he'll listen to you. And turn the Tatas into the caring and nurturing corporate family that they profess to be.

When you supported an environmental in the past, the government has always heard you loud and clear. To make sure Ratan hears you loud and clear, simply click on the photo of the turtle here and join Greenpeace by sending him an email.

On behalf of the planet's last Olive Ridley Turtles,

ramjee