Kendrapara/Berhampur, Mar 28 (PTI) The beaches of Kendrapara and Ganjam districts in Odisha are now witnessing a phenomenon as lakhs of Olive Ridley turtles flocked the seashores for the annual mass nesting, forest officials said on Monday.
The annual journey of the marine reptiles to lay eggs presents a breathtaking sight.
The turtles have started reaching the Gahirmatha beach, considered the world’s largest-known nesting ground of these animals, since Friday, while thousands of such animals arrived at the Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district on early Sunday morning.
Besides Gahirmatha and Rushikulya, they also lay eggs at the Devi river mouth in Puri district.
On Sunday, as many as 40,533 female turtles laid eggs on an island formed near the Rushikulya river mouth.
“The mass nesting of the turtles started from 4 am at the site and continued till around 8.30 am on Sunday,” Divisional Forest Officer of Berhampur Forest Division in Ganjam district, Amlan Nayak, said.
The mass nesting of the Olive Ridley turtles did not take place at the Rushikulya river mouth last year, even though thousands of sea species had been seen in the sea, he said.
At Gahirmatha on Friday, around 2.45 lakh female turtles crawled to the seashore to dig pits with flippers, the Divisional Forest Officer of Rajnagar Mangrove (Wildlife), J D Pati, who oversees the mass nesting of turtles in Gahirmatha beach, said.
“The arrival of so many turtles is a refreshing development, and this is probably the largest congregation at the nesting beach on a single day,” Pati said.
“We’re expecting a large congregation for the next two three days, and the mass nesting is likely to continue at least for a week,” he added.
There were apprehensions that the olive ridley turtles, which derives the name from the colour of the shell, might skip their annual visit as the mass nesting was delayed by around a fortnight.
Last year, 3,49,694 turtles had turned up at the nesting grounds to lay eggs from March 9 to March 23.
The females virtually invade the nesting beaches, usually in the dead of the night, for laying eggs. They usually lay around 120-150 eggs and return to the sea, another official said.
Hatchlings usually emerge after 45-60 days. Out of every 1,000 hatchlings that enter the sea, only one manages to reach adulthood, according to official data.
Illegal egg poaching, turtle harvesting and nest destruction by humans are some of the major threats these reptiles face, apart from climate change.
The Forest Department has been prioritizing the safety of the nests, with wildlife staff on round-the-clock vigil to keep predators like jackals, hyenas and wild dogs at bay, an official said.
“The condition of the beach, as well as the weather, is very conducive. We expect the unique phenomena will continue for the next few days” said Amlan Nayak, the divisional forest officer, Berhampur forest division.
He said the mass nesting of the Olive Ridley was followed by the sporadic nesting in the Rushikulya rookery, considered the second largest after Gahiramatha.
A fence has been erected along the entire 4.5-km long stretch of beach to prevent visitors.
Over 150 people, including forest personnel, wildlife activists and nearby villagers were engaged for round the clock protection of the Olive Ridley and the eggs. The protection would continue in the next 50 days till the hatchling takes place, the DFO said. PTI COR HMB AAM SBN NN NN
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