The Mandapam wildlife and forest range, protecting the Gulf of Mannar (GOM) Marine National Park, has recorded this season’s maiden collection of Olive Ridley sea turtle eggs with its personnel collecting 128 eggs from a nest at Arichalmunai near Danushkodi on Sunday.
Led by S. Sathish, Forest Range Officer, a team of forest guards, anti-poaching watchers and sea turtle watchers, found the nest at the early hours while they were taking a stroll along the seashore, surveying for turtle tracks.
The team collected the eggs from the nest and safely shifted them to the hatchery at Muhuntharayar Chathiraam (MR Chathiram).
“This is probably the first collection of eggs in the entire Tamil Nadu coast and we are hoping for a good season in the Mandapam range,” Mr Sathish told The Hindu .
Last year, the range had recorded the maiden collection of 98 eggs at MR Chathiram on December 13 and this year too, the season had begun on the right time, though there were apprehensions because of the recent Ockhi cyclonic storm, he said.
As the season has commenced, sea turtle watchers, accompanied by forest guards and anti-poaching watchers, would take out early morning strolls along the beach to look for turtle tracks and nests.
The eggs had to be collected soon after they were laid to protect them from predators such as stray dogs, crabs and birds, Mr Sathish said.
Last season (December 2016 to March 2017) was one of the best seasons after the GOM Marine National Park launched the turtle conservation project in 2013-14, he said, adding the Mandapam range had collected about 13,000 eggs and released 12,000 hatchlings into the sea, achieving more than 90% survival rate.
After implementing a series of awareness and conservation programmes, the Mandapam range had made the vast sandy stretch from Adhiramapattinam to Arichalmunai Olive Ridley friendly.
Arichalmunai area appeared to be the preferred destination for the turtles to build their nests as the personnel had collected more than 40% of last year’s collection of eggs from the region, he said.
