Satish Bhaskar was a curious man. From a very young age he was fascinated with the sea and the diverse marine creatures, especially turtles. When he learnt that sea turtles were being exploited in India for their eggs, shells and flesh, he understood the importance of documenting and protecting nesting turtle beaches. In the late 1970s, he decided to cover every single beach and island in India, by foot. Over 19 years, Bhaskar surveyed more than 4,000 kilometers (2,485 miles) of the country’s coastline and published several important reports, filling huge gaps of knowledge about sea turtle distribution. He even chose to maroon himself on an uninhabited island in Lakshadweep for months, equipped with only basic essentials and a transistor, to study turtles. In a documentary about his life and career, titled Turtle Walker, the late conservationist described being with turtles as some of the happiest days in his life. “I am glad I did the things I did,” he said. Produced by Emaho Films and backed by Tiger Baby, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and Ceres, the 75-minute documentary is already winning international recognition and is set to be screened at the DC Environmental Film Festival 2025 (DCEFF 2025). Mongabay is a media partner for DCEFF 2025 and has interviewed some filmmakers as part of this collaboration. In this interview with Mongabay India, Taira Malaney, the director of Turtle Walker talked about why she chose Satish Bhaskar as the subject of her documentary, the challenges of filming with turtles, the…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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