Support ORPTrack, Our new satellite tagging programme
Where do our turtle patients go to find food when we release them? Help us find out by supporting ORPTrack, our new satellite tagging programme.
Since 2017, we have released more than 95 rehabilitated sea turtles from our rescue and rehabilitation centres in the Maldives, most of which were olive ridleys. Olive ridleys, unlike the commonly seen green and hawksbill turtles, spend most of their life in the open ocean. Therefore, we know surprisingly little about them!
ORPTrack, is a scientific research project that will help us gain better understanding of the feeding habits of olive ridley sea turtles. We deployed our first satellite tag on 18 April 2022 and a second on 23 May 2022. The second tag was fitted on Pickle, an adult olive ridley turtle patient who had spent six months at the Rescue Centre. She was rescued from entanglement in a ghost net.
The satellite tags will allow us to track the turtles for up to a year and the data gathered from these satellite tags will be consistently monitored, recorded and analysed. The aim is to answer two important questions to fill crucial gaps in sea turtle research and help us plan for future conservation strategies.:
- Where do olive ridley turtles go to feed in the Maldives and in the Indian Ocean as a whole?
- What environmental factors make up a good feeding ground for olive ridleys?
We would like to thank to Legend Bracelets, Marine Life Protectors and Thorsten Albrecht for the initial startup funding for ORPTrack. You too can be part of this exciting new project by donating below. As a supporter of ORPTrack you will receive:
- Regular updates about where our turtles are travelling with maps
- Periodic project updates
- Hot of the press research findings
- A mention on our website as an ORPTrack supporter (if you select to)
We are grateful for any donation we receive – big or small.
Thank you!
