Chhatrapur: Rushikulya rookery witnessed a sharp decline in mass nesting of Olive Ridley turtles as it registered 2.05 lakh turtles laying eggs in this season (2026), as against an all-time high of 9 lakh in 2025 season.
Natural factors including the shrinkage of beach width, soil erosion across the estuary, sudden rise in sea surface temperature and absence of southern wind, created a huge impact on the delay in arrival of the endangered species, Assistant Conservator of Forests Dibya Ranjan Behera said.
Podampeta sheltered a huge number of eggs in the previous year which saw the large congregations of the sea turtles. However, environmentalists and researchers found significant erosion of beach soil that added to the shrinkage of beach width across a wide stretch till Prayagi this year. This prompted the turtles to begin sporadic nesting during the early phase this year on the island beach.
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Gradually, the mass nesting zone shifted more towards Rushikulya estuary rather than a spacious sand bed that was unfortunately wiped out just before the nesting, the officials added. Pertinent to mention here that mass nesting was zero in year 2023. Similarly, nesting numbers were poor in 2024. On the contrary, 2025 witnessed a record number of arrivals of these turtles for nearly 10 days.
This year saw just four days of mass nesting. Wildlife enthusiasts, environmentalists, forest officials, volunteers and locals are hopeful for a huge turnout next year based on the history of the previous years. The next challenge posed before the officials is the conservation and protection of eggs before the hatchlings move into the sea after 45 – 50 day nestling period that concluded March 17 this year.