Berhampur: As dusk descended on the coast near the Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district, thousands of baby Olive Ridley sea turtles started to emerge from sandy pits and crawl towards the sea from Saturday night.
Mass hatching of Olive Ridley sea turtles had started in time and was likely to continue for the next four to five days, a forest officer said.
“We are trying our best to ensure the safety of the baby turtles,” said Sunny Khokkar, divisional forest officer (DFO) in Berhampur.
An all-time high 6.37 lakh Olive Ridley sea turtles had laid eggs in a three-km-long stretch from Podampeta to Bateshwar near the river mouth during the eight-day duration of mass nesting from February 23 to March 3 this year.
“As a record number of Olive Ridley sea turtles laid eggs and the weather condition was good, we expect a sizeable number of baby turtles to emerge from the eggs this time,” he said.
Around 100 to 150 eggs are laid by each female turtle during the mass nesting period.
After laying eggs, the turtles return to the sea without waiting to see the baby turtles.
Local people have teamed up with the forest officials to protect the hatchlings, while the forest officials fenced off the area with mosquito nets.
“We have fenced off the entire area to prevent the entry of predators like wild dogs, jackals, hyenas etc,” the DFO said.
Patrolling in the sea beach was also intensified to protect the baby turtles from crows and kites.
He said around 60 forest personnel along with some villagers are in the area to protect the baby turtles.
The volunteers collected some of the hatchlings, who had diverted from their path on the beach, and released them into the sea, the DFO said.
“For the last several years, local volunteers have extended their help to the forest officials to protect the hatchlings,” said Rabindra Sahu, secretary of the Rushikulya sea turtle protection committee.
PTI