A whopping 27,000 Olive Ridley Turtle eggs were collected and are being conserved by local communities under the aegis of the Forest Department along the coastline in Krishna District. This is one of the massive conservation exercises to promise a better environment for the endangered species. .
“Unpredictable number of turtles turned up along the Andhra Pradesh coast this season, driving us to take measures on war-footing for its conservation,” Eluru Division Chief Conservator of Forests S.S. Sreedhar told The Hindu .
Monitoring
The eggs were collected along the strategic coastline stretch in Krishna district including surroundings of the Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS).
The eggs are being monitored at rookeries. Yanadi tribal and other local community members are busy guarding and monitoring the five rookeries set up at Jinkapalem, Sangameswaram, Lighthouse area and Eelachetladibba, which is heart of KWS.
Summer effect According to staff at the rookeries, more than 250 nests made by the turtles were sighted along the coast. It was also noted that the turtles have stopped laying eggs, putting an end to the season this year, thanks to rising mercury levels. “Every day, a handsome number of hatchlings are being released into the sea from each rookery, designed in ‘in situ’ conservation method, and above 500 hatchlings have already been released till date,” Wildlife Division officials said.
Death toll Ironically, despite the death toll of the turtle was so high this season due to various reasons, the number of survival of the hatchlings was also very much significant. It was predicted that the breeding season of the turtle, including completion of releasing all hatchlings, is likely to complete by April end.
