Kendrapara: Over 10,000 Olive Ridley sea turtles arrived en masse at the nesting beach of Nasi-II within Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary and laid eggs.
Gahirmatha ranger Subrat Kumar Patra said the forest personnel have taken all precautionary measures to provide a congenial atmosphere for the sea turtles as mass nesting would commence at any moment from now onwards at the golden beach of Nasi-II island, considered to be the favourite nesting place and the largest rookery of the species.
The turtles lay 100- 120 eggs at a go. Female turtles arrive at the coast at the dead of the night. They lay eggs at midnight in 45 centimeters pits, which they dig with their rear flippers. After laying the eggs in the pits, the turtles cover the nests with sand and return to the sea in a zigzag manner to confuse predators about the location of the nests.
Hatchlings emerge from these eggs after 45-60 days and find their way to the sea creating a cacophony. It is one of the nature’s rare phenomenons where babies grow without their mother, said forest officials.
The mortality rate of Olive Ridley turtles is so high that only one egg out of every 1,000 eggs laid ultimately hatches and the hatchling survives to become an adult.
Among the nesting grounds in the state, Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary is said to be the largest rookery for the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtle, which is protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act,1972 and accorded highest protection like endangered tigers.
During the breeding season, Olive Ridley males and females migrate from their feeding ground to the breeding ground. The mating occurs in the offshore waters. The endangered species rarely turn up in such large numbers anywhere in the planet. The turtles arrive en masse in lakhs at the golden beaches of Gahirmatha marine sanctuary for laying eggs.
Forest officials said last year as many as 4,13,334 turtles came to lay eggs between March 12 to March 19 at the beaches of Nasi-I and Nasi-II. PNN
