An Olive Ridley turtle is seen at the Rushikulya river mouth beach and laying eggs on their mass nesting time close to to the Podampeta village in Ganjam district of Odisha.
| Photo Credit: Biswaranjan Rout
About 6.37 lakh Olive Ridley sea turtles have arrived for mass nesting at Rushikulya coast this 12 months, setting a new document for the beach in Odisha’s Ganjam district.
The arrival of 6.37 lakh turtles throughout February 23 to March 2 — which is handled as a mass nesting interval — was attributed to emergence of latest seashores for laying of eggs close to Podampetta space, Sunny Khokkar, Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer advised over the cellphone.
Mr. Khokkar stated, this 12 months, the seashores remained unaffected as there have been no excessive climate occasions corresponding to cyclone and heavy rain and turtles ascended completely sloped seashores at Rushikulya River Mouth. Last 12 months, 5.5 lakh Olive Ridley turtles had come to Rushikulya for mass nesting.
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Finding sanctuary: Olive Ridley turtles, a susceptible species in accordance with the International Union for Conservation of Nature, come ashore to the Rushikulya river mouth in Odisha for laying eggs.
For the document: A wildlife official measures an Olive Ridley turtle, which has arrived on the beach alongside Podampeta village in Ganjam district.
Destination reached: Once a turtle finds the appropriate spot, it settles right down to make a shallow nest the place it’ll lay about 100 eggs on a mean.
Flip aspect: A turtle makes use of its flippers to scoop out sand to create a cavity 30 cm to 50 cm deep to put eggs.
Handle with care: Olive Ridley eggs want safety from stray canine and human interference. If a nest has been disturbed, the eggs are typically moved by wildlife officers to a protected spot
Measure for measure: Growing to about half a metre and 50 kg in weight, the Olive Ridley turtle will get its identify from its inexperiencedgray carapace (high shell). It is the smallest of all the ocean turtle species.
Keeping observe: An Olive Ridley turtle is tagged to assist in figuring out its migration path, perceive the behaviour of marine reptiles and use that information for conservation efforts.
Long swim forward: A turtle makes its manner again to the ocean after nesting.
Au revoir: The Olive Ridley turtles don’t wait to see the eggs hatch, however come again subsequent seasons to put eggs once more. They spend their lives within the ocean, inhabiting the tropical and subtropical waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans.
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“The actual number of Olive Ridleys coming to Rushikulya Mouth would go up as turtles keep coming to the coast after March 2. We are currently counting the number of turtles received during sporadic nesting witnessed after March 2,” he stated. The forest division has stepped its supervision to stop turtle mortality by deploying forest officers.
Olive Ridley turtles dig holes on the beach with their entrance flippers for hours. Subsequently, they use their hind flippers to scoop out sand to create a cavity. They lay dozens of eggs at one go and canopy it once more with sand. Before dawn, the turtles return to the ocean, abandoning the eggs, which might hatch after 40-60 days. The hatchlings are anticipated to emerge from the eggs within the month of April and May.
Turtles additionally arrive at Gahirmatha beach in Odisha’s Kendrapara district, which is called the world’s largest identified rookery. Besides, Puri and Devi River Mouth seashores too host Olive Ridley turtles this time round.
As a part of a long-term examine, researchers of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) continued tagging of Olive Ridley turtles at three mass nesting websites – Gahirmatha, Devi River mouth, and Rushikulya. The steel tags affixed to turtles are non-corrosive and they don’t hurt their physique. The steel could be eliminated later. The tags are uniquely numbered containing particulars corresponding to identify of organisation, country-code, and electronic mail tackle.
“This year, we propose to tag 3200 turtles. It is heartening to note that 150 Olive Ridley turtles which were tagged have returned to lay eggs on beaches of Odisha this year,” ZSI scientist Anil Mohapatra stated.
Dr. Mohapatra stated two turtles tagged in Odisha have been noticed in Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu. The ZSI have focused to tag over 30,000 over a interval of 10 years. ZSI examine focuses on how usually turtles return to Odisha seashores for mass nesting and various factors affecting turtle motion.
