CHENNAI: The rather bustling shores of Besant Nagar beach have been playing host to the annual Olive Ridley sea turtle nesting season at night since the last week of December.
To ease this process given human interference, marine pollution and the threat of shrimp trawl nets the Tamil Nadu Forest Department has set up hatcheries at other hotspots across the city such as Neelankarai, Injambakkam and Pulicat. An egg takes 45 days to hatch, depending on the humidity and temperature.
To mimic the natural phenomenon, the hatcheries are dug deep for the turtles to lay their eggs and closely monitored by volunteers. More than 50,000 eggs have been collected and 10,000 hatchlings have been released safely into the sea, informs E Prasanth, Wildlife Warden, Chennai.
All by the collaborative effort of NGOs, volunteers of Students Sea Turtle Conservations Network and the local crowd, it seems. TNIE lensman Debadatta Mallick offers glimpses of the hatchlings crawling back to their home from the coast.
10K hatchlings have been released safely into the sea so far, thanks to these efforts