BERHAMPUR: Rushikulya rookery in Ganjam district has broken all the previous records of mass nesting by the endangered Olive Ridleys as over 6.37 lakh turtles laid eggs on the beach this year.
Mass nesting of the Olive Ridley turtles started on the three km beach stretch from Podampeta to Bateshwar from February 23 and continued for eight days. During the period, at least 6,37,008 turtles laid eggs, which is 86,000 more than the previous year, said divisional forest officer (DFO) of Berhampur Sunny Khokkar
Last year, 5,50,317 turtles laid eggs during the mass nesting which started in third week of March, 2022. The nesting took place in the six km beach stretch from Gokharkuda to Podempeta. “As the mass nesting took place a month ahead of the schedule this year, we expect the eggs to hatch early and more hatchlings will emerge. All necessary measures have been taken to protect the eggs in the rookery. Adequate number of personnel including locals have been engaged to keep a watch on the eggs and predators,” said the DFO.
As the female turtles go back to sea after laying eggs, predators like jackals, wild dogs, boars and birds will be on the prowl to eat the eggs. To protect the eggs, the authorities have erected fencing around the area. Meanwhile, the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Gopalpur has tagged around 3,200 turtles this year. ZSI scientist Anil Mohapatra said the tagging was done to study migration route of the endangered species.
“Our objective is to study the inter-rookery migration of these delicate marine species besides their gestation period,” he said. The turtles were fitted with metallic flipper tags. The exercise was carried out in collaboration with the State Forest department, Mohapatra added.