KENDRAPARA: Millions of Olive Ridley baby turtles began emerging from the pits at the Nasi-1, Nasi-2, and Eakakulanasi islands of Bhitarkanika’s Gahirmatha marine sanctuary here on Tuesday night. The baby turtles were seen starting their journey towards the sea.
The Olive Ridley turtles finished their five-day long mass nesting on these islands from March 5 to 10 March during which 60,6,933 female turtles had laid eggs.
A female turtle lays around 80 t0 100 eggs and returns to the sea, never visiting her nest again to take care of the eggs or hatchlings, said forest range officer of Gahirmatha Kapil Pradhan.
The female turtles dig pits on the sand, lay their eggs and cover them with sand before returning to the sea. The eggs incubate for 45 to 50 days after which the two-inch baby turtles hatch from it. They emerge in group during the night and scurry down the beach into the sea water.
Pradhan said that to prevent turtle hatchlings from disorienting towards land, and the nearby mangrove forest instead of the sea, the six km long nesting beach was fenced.
Forest guards and locals have been deployed to prevent dogs, jackals, birds and other animals from killing the baby turtles. Bright lights from the Missile Test Range at Abdul Kalam Island were also masked during the period to ensure safe passage of the hatchlings towards the sea.
The mortality rate of baby turtles in the sea is high, as out of 1,000 hatchlings, only one survives to become an adult. On reaching the age of 20 years, these turtles come back to the same beach for mating and laying eggs where they were born.