As many as 74 baby Olive Ridley turtles were safely released into the sea on Kodi Beach in Kundapur taluk of Udupi district on Thursday night.
The Forest Department, along with members of FSL India and Reef Watch Marine Conservation, and local fishermen, were, for the last 55 days, protecting a hatchery of Oliver Ridley turtles near the Kodi Lighthouse. They were keeping a close watch on the hatchery all through the day and night during the period.
At around 9.45 p.m., baby turtles started to emerge from the sand pits of this hatchery. It took nearly two hours for them to move towards the sea.
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Forest Department officials Uday B., Basavaraj and Ranjit Poojary were actively involved in the work. FSL India’s Dinesh Saranga, Nagaraj Shetty Sablady and Venkatesh M. and Reef Watch’s Tejaswini and Viril Kumar also took part in it.
FSL India President Rakesh Soans said that they are protecting four more hatcheries in the area. They are hoping for the safe release of all the hatchlings in these hatcheries, Mr. Soans said.