Navi Mumbai: In a significant conservation milestone, the Maharashtra Forest Department has satellite-tagged an Olive Ridley sea turtle rehabilitated on the state’s west coast for the first time. The female turtle, later named Dhaval Lakshmi, was fitted with a transmitter and released into the sea off Dahanu on 20 November by the Dahanu Forest Division and the Mangrove Cell, in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

Officials said the turtle had been rescued on 10 August after local fishermen found her entangled in a fishing net with injuries on both front flippers. She was handed over to the Turtle Treatment Centre in Dahanu, where she underwent extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation before being cleared for release.

After full recovery, experts approved her

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