Kendrapara: The much awaited mass nesting of the endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles commenced at Nasi-II beach inside Gahirmatha marine sanctuary from Saturday night.
Rajnagar mangrove (forest) and wildlife division DFO Bikash Ranjan Dash said over 78,000 Olive Ridley sea turtles laid eggs in the last 48 hours in Nasi II beach, said to be the largest rookery of the species.
The forest personnel have taken all precautionary measures to provide a congenial atmosphere to the Olive Ridley sea turtles for laying eggs.
Dash said while 10,066 turtles came ashore to Nasi-II Saturday night and Sunday morning, 68,311 Olive Ridley sea turtles laid eggs in the last 24 hours.
He said the laying of eggs would continue for another five to six days. With the DRDO prohibiting visitors, only a handful of forest personnel engaged on turtle protection duty can witness this unique natural phenomenon.
The forest personnel have made 24 segments at Nasi-II for counting turtle nests and engaged 26 forest personnel to count the nests in each segment per hour. Each segment has been formed with 100 meter width, said the DFO,
During the day, the turtles remain in coast due to heat and in the evening they come en-masse for laying eggs.
The Olive Ridley sea turtles generally lay 100-120 eggs in a go at midnight in 45-centimetre pits. 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 45-55 days and find their way to the sea creating a cacophony.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at Wheeler Island has also masked the light to provide a congenial atmosphere to the endangered species for laying eggs.
About 4.50 lakh Olive Ridley sea turtles came to the golden beaches of Gahirmatha Marine sanctuary last year.
PNN