2. Paragraph 4

Between the months of January and March, female Olive Ridleys come ashore at night to lay their eggs. This is quite a problem for them, as a turtle’s front flippers enable it to swim gracefully and effortlessly but are not very useful for moving on land. The turtle has to haul itself laboriously onto the beach. Then it chooses a spot well away from the high-tideline. Here, it scoops out a nest cavity 45 cm deep, into which it lays about 100 eggs. Each egg is in the shape and size of a table tennis ball. Once all the eggs are laid, the turtle fills in the cavity, then it camouflages the nest by tossing sand on it using its flippers. That done, it returns to the sea. The eggs are left to incubate under the warmth of the sun.