Ganjam: As many as 3,12,000 Olive Ridley turtles laid eggs five days into the mass nesting season at the sea beach of Rushikulya river mouth near Purunabandha in Ganjam town Saturday.
The mass nesting began February 13 with 67,000 turtles laying eggs on the second day, 65,000 on the third day, 1,2000 on the fourth day and 71,000 on the fifth day Friday.
This takes the total to 3,12,000 in five days, divisional forest officer (DFO) Ashis Kumar Behera of Berhampur forest division said.
This is the first nesting of the rare turtles at Rushikulya. Their other nesting sites are Gahirmatha and Devi river mouth in the state
Necessary measures have been taken to protect the eggs, Behera said. Over 150 forest personnel have been deployed to ensure safe nesting of the turtles. After reports surfaced, tourists started thronging the sea beach to witness the mass nesting of the turtles.
An Olive Ridley turtle weighs around 50 to 60 kg and each female turtle lays over 120-140 eggs during the nesting period, Khallikote DFO, Dillip Martha said.
Every turtle digs up a pit of 1.5 ft and lays eggs. Later, they cover it up with sand. Baby turtles hatch from the eggs after 45 days or two months, local environmentalists and Coast Guard officials said.
The four km stretch of the area from the sea beach to the casuarinas forest has been demarcated as coastal zone and security has been beefed up here to prevent jackals and dogs from feasting on the eggs.
Regular patrolling is being conducted while two gates have been constructed on the sea beach. While one gate is at Podampeta the other is at Gokharkuda near the beach.
Tourists have been barred to take their vehicles near the gates. Police, forest and Coast Guard personnel keep a close watch on the four km stretch of the sea beach from Purunabandh to Bateshwar where the turtles lay eggs, Behera said.
Large trawlers have been barred from moving in the sea while special teams have been formed for enumeration of the sea turtles. The turtles which mated in November will complete their nesting process by February end. Baby turtles will come out of egg shells by March end, environmentalists said.
Turtles were seen near the coast for last few days but started moving to the beach after the wind started blowing southwards, environmentalist Rabindra Sahoo said. PNN