Kendrapara: Much to the ecstasy of nature lovers, thousands of mating pairs of Olive Ridley sea turtles were sighted by forest officials in Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, the world’s largest rookery of the species.
In view of this, surveillance has been tightened in the prohibited zone of the sanctuary, said Gahirmatha ranger Subrat Kumar Patra Friday. The sanctuary personnel have set up two off shore camps at Babubali and Agarnasi. Fourteen onshore camps from Dhamra to Mahanadi river mouth have been set up to restrict the illegal entry of trawlers to the sanctuary.
According to Patra, mating of turtles is expected to continue till mid January.
Female turtles tend to move towards the beaches in large synchronised concentrations. They lay 100 – 120 eggs at midnight in 45 cm pits which they dig with their rear flippers. After laying the eggs, the turtles cover the nests with sand and return to the sea in a zigzag manner to confuse predators about the location of nests.
Hatchlings emerge from these eggs after 45-60 days and find their way to the sea creating a cacophony. It is a rare phenomenon where babies grow without their mothers. The mortality rate of the species is so high that one out of every 1,000 eggs laid ultimately hatches and the hatchling survives to become an adult.
The state forest department and the state marine fishery department have imposed a ban on all types of fishing around 20 km off the shore from November 1, 2017 to May 31, 2018 in view of the turtle mating and nesting season. PNN
