Post News Network
Kendrapara, May 8: More than 80 per cent of Olive Ridley eggs at Nasi II island of Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary were damaged while about 47 lakh hatchlings emerged from eggs in the current mass nesting season.
“The percentage of hatchlings coming out of the eggs during mass nesting this year would be only 12 to 15,” said Bimal Prasanna Acharya, DFO, Rajnagar angrove (forest) and wildlife division.
According to Acharya, an estimated 4,13,334 endangered Olive Ridley turtles came for mass nesting this year between March 12 to March 19 at the Nasi I and Nasi II islands of the sanctuary.The female turtles laid nearly 80 eggs in each nest.
Due to multi-layering, more than 50 per cent of eggs were destroyed in several segments during the mass nesting, Acharya said. The eggs remained undamaged during the last three days of mass nesting and about 15 to 25 hatchlings came out of each nest, he added.
Predators like crows and seagulls also destroyed some of the eggs. Apart from this, more than 20 per cent of the remaining eggs were washed away in high tide. Sand erosion in the beach also caused damage to the eggs while some of the eggs were defective.
“In this process, more than 80 per cent of the eggs were damaged during the mass nesting at the Nasi II island,” said the DFO.
“Mortality rate of the turtles is so high that only one out of 1,000 eggs hatches and the hatchling survives to become an adult olive Ridley,” he added.
