18th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Survival of the fittest

Every year in Rushikhulya, numerous Olive Ridley Sea turtles are born and they all march towards the ocean for a new beginning. But sadly,1 out of 1000 turtles can only survive.Their struggle begins the moment they are born, first they have to tackle land predators like wolf, hyena etc, followed by avian ones like Jungle crow or Brahminy kites and finally the marine creatures.But to my surprise, I found that the ghost crabs which compared to other predators are very small in size,also try to feast upon these baby turtles.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 04.2018
Date Uploaded: 11.2020
Photo Location: Chhatrapur, India
Copyright: © Saurabh Chakraborty