Odisha: Olive Ridley turtle hatchlings emerge from eggs, begin seaward journey

Berhampur (Odisha): The hatching of Olive Ridley turtle eggs has begun in Rushikulya river mouth in Odisha's Ganjam district, as thousands of hatchlings emerged from sandy pits and crawled towards the sea, a senior forest official said.

The mass hatching in the rookery started on Thursday as the baby turtles began their seaward journey without their mothers, who returned to the waters after laying the eggs.

"The mass hatching has started on time and it is likely to continue for the next four to five days. We are trying our best to ensure the safety of the baby turtles," Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) and in-charge of Khallikote Forest Range, Dibya Shankar Behera, said.

"As a record number of turtles had laid eggs in the rookery in two phases this year, we are expecting a record number of babies to emerge from the eggs," he said.

While 6.98 lakh Olive Ridley turtles had laid eggs along the five-km stretch of the beach from Podampeta to Bateswatra in their first phase of mass nesting from February 16 to 23, over 2.05 lakh turtles had laid eggs in the same stretch in the second phase of mass nesting from March 22 to 27.

The official said that local volunteers have extended a helping hand to the forest personnel to protect the baby turtles from predators.

"We have fenced the entire area to prevent the entry of predators such as wild dogs, jackals and hyenas, among others," the ACF said.

The Forest Department has also asked the nearby industrial units, Gopalpur Port and civic authorities in Ganjam to dim the street lights at night to ensure that the baby turtles are not attracted towards the glow of light, and safely venture into the sea.