Green and olive ridley turtles

Sea turtles that nest on Pakistan's beaches

Reptiles

Large sea turtles that come ashore at night on beaches near Karachi and along the Balochistan coast to lay their eggs.

About the animals

Female turtles crawl onto the beach at night, dig a nest in the sand and lay around 100 eggs before returning to the sea. Weeks later the hatchlings dig out and race to the water.

Threats

Lights from beach huts confuse hatchlings, beaches are disturbed by construction and visitors, and turtles are caught in fishing nets or swallow plastic.

Conservation

Wildlife departments and WWF-Pakistan run turtle protection and hatchery programmes, and fishermen have been trained to release turtles caught in nets.