In Pics: Chennai locals patrol beaches at night to safeguard endangered sea turtles

For nearly four decades, residents of the coastal city of Chennai have patrolled moonlit beaches at night to protect sea turtles and their hatchlings that for millennia have nested along these shores. (Source: AP)

Hungry dogs, locals looking for a snack, and disorienting lights are among the hazards facing the olive ridley turtles and their eggs, which can take up to 60 days to hatch. (Source: AP)

Many turtles are caught offshore in fishing nets, which this year alone have killed hundreds of them in the area. (Source: AP)

The residents have collected and helped to protect more than 2,60,000 turtle eggs this year in Tamil Nadu. (Source: AP)

Patrollers scan the beaches looking for turtles nesting or small sand mounds that might indicate eggs are buried underneath. (Source: AP)

When they find a cache of eggs, they transport them to a protected area and rebury them at the same depth as they were initially found. (Source: AP)

This is crucial since temperatures affect what sex the turtles will be. Study shows rising temperatures from human-caused planet-warming are resulting in fewer male turtles being born. (Source: AP)

Locals cover at least 30 kilometres (18 miles), by breaking into smaller groups, with each group walking seven or eight kilometre to safeguard endangered sea turtles. (Source: AP)

A forest official carries olive ridley sea turtle eggs collected from Marina Beach. The eggs will be taken to a hatching centre. (Source: AP)

Yajur Karthik, an 11-year-old volunteer from nearby Bengaluru city, has been coming for the last two years to help protect the turtles. He said he feels it's important to help conserve the turtles given the growing number of challenges these ancient creatures face. “Only one in a thousand turtles survives," he said. (Source: AP)