VISAKHAPATNAM : As many as 100 Olive Ridley hatchlings were released into Bay of Bengal on Friday morning. Marking the World Wildlife Day, collector Pravin Kumar, forest officials and animal lovers released the hatchlings into the sea at RK Beach.
These hatchlings take over 25 years to reach adulthood but their survival rate is quite low, the officials said. The eggs laid by an adult Olive Ridley turtle are shifted to a hatchery set up on the coast, where they hatch after 45 days.
“Till now, 554 Ridley hatchlings have been released into the sea from different places across the coast. This year, forest officials have collected 47,000 eggs from the 250 nests and the hatchlings will be released in another 100 days,” said Pravin Kumar. With seven species of Olive Ridleys visiting the Vizag coast every year, the collector asked the fishermen to be aware of the species, which might get trapped in their fishing nets.
Vizag zoo organises ‘Walk the Turtle Talk
Meanwhile, the World Wildlife Day celebrated with the theme “Listen to the young voices”, Indira Gandhi Zoological Park and the Forest department jointly organised Walk the Turtle Talk on Friday from the RK Beach turtle hatchery near the Victory at Sea to VUDA Park, while schoolchildren took out a rally in the Zoo park. Meanwhile, students and scholars of the department of Environmental Sciences, Andhra University, organised a photo exhibition highlighting biodiversity and wildlife.