Mumbai: A male green sea turtle (chelonia mydas) has been sighted for the first time on the Shrivardhan coast in Raigad district, forest officials said. The turtle was spotted on Sunday in Bagmandla village, on the shore near the newly constructed ferry jetty, and it was released back safely into its natural habitat the same day, officials said.
“The sighting highlights the ecological richness of the Konkan coastline and underscores the need for continued marine conservation and community participation,” said Kanchan Pawar, divisional forest officer (mangrove cell, south Konkan).
The green sea turtle (chelonia mydas) was listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) till 2025, when it was downgraded to ‘least concern’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
“Female green sea turtles have been spotted here along the coast and in creeks often in the past, but there is no prior record of sighting of male green sea turtles,” said Mohan Upadhye, assistant researcher with the nonprofit, Mangrove Foundation.
Forest officials also confirmed that this was the first recorded instance of a male green sea turtle being spotted in the Bagmandla–Shrivardhan region.
On Sunday, Akash Suresh Padlekar, a ferry worker from Velas, first noticed that the turtle – weighing 200kg and measuring more than 6 feet in length, from head to tail – had washed ashore and alerted the south Konkan mangrove cell. Forest guards, turtle experts and trained Kasav Mitra volunteers then visited the spot and confirmed that it was a fully-grown male green sea turtle, officials said. Preliminary examination by forest staff revealed no visible injuries, they noted.
“The turtle may have been carried ashore due to low tide conditions,” said an officer from the mangrove department. “If marine turtles are sighted along the coast, timely reporting helps ensure the animals’ safety and conservation.”
The turtle was released back safely into its natural marine habitat, thanks to the coordinated efforts of Kasav Mitra volunteers Jayant Kanade, Sanket Mayekar, Santosh Mayekar, Subodh Khopatkar; forest guards Tushar Bhate and Rishikesh Lavte; turtle expert Mohan Upadhye, and local villagers and ferry staff.