Berhampur (Odisha), Apr 17 : Odisha’s Rushikulya beach witnessed a fascinating mass hatching of Olive Ridley turtles this year. As dusk descended on the coast near the Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district, thousands of baby Olive Ridley sea turtles started to emerge from sandy pits and crawl towards the sea from Saturday night.
Gahirmatha is the only marine wildlife sanctuary in Odisha. Gahirmatha coast being the safest place for Olive Ridley sea turtles, their number keeps increasing every year which, according to animal lovers and environmentalists, is a good sign from an environmental point of view.
“As a record number of Olive Ridley sea turtles laid eggs and the weather condition was good, we expect a sizeable number of baby turtles to emerge from the eggs this time,” he said.
Around 100 to 150 eggs are laid by each female turtle during the mass nesting period.
After laying eggs, the turtles return to the sea without waiting to see the baby turtles.
Local people have teamed up with the forest officials to protect the hatchlings, while the forest officials fenced off the area with mosquito nets.
“We have fenced off the entire area to prevent the entry of predators like wild dogs, jackals, hyenas etc,” the DFO said.
Patrolling in the sea beach was also intensified to protect the baby turtles from crows and kites.
He said around 60 forest personnel along with some villagers are in the area to protect the baby turtles.
The volunteers collected some of the hatchlings, who had diverted from their path on the beach, and released them into the sea, the DFO said.
“For the last several years, local volunteers have extended their help to the forest officials to protect the hatchlings,” said Rabindra Sahu, secretary of the Rushikulya sea turtle protection committee. PTI COR AAM MM MM
(With inputs from PTI)
