Baby Turtles
Thousands of baby Olive Ridley turtles have hatched on a beach in eastern India. The name for the sea turtle is tied to the color of its shell, an olive-green shade.
It is the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles, and it lives in the tropical areas of the South Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.
In late March, the turtles settled in the Gahirmatha beach to lay eggs in the sand. Between the fifth and eighth of May, the tiny hatchlings began to come out from the sand and are now making their journey towards the sea.
Olive Ridley turtles were once killed for meat and leather. Legal quotas have reduced the number of killed animals; however, an illegal industry with their eggs still exists.
Difficult words: abundant (existing in large amounts), hatchling (a young animal that has recently come out of its egg), quota (an official limited amount that can be produced or traded).