As V. Arun, a conservationist who works with the Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN), spots tracks from the sea leading up to the shore, he stops to inspect them and a group of walkers gather around.
Probing the sand, he unearths a nest of nearly 139 eggs laid by an Olive Ridley turtle. Going by the flipper marks leading up from the sea, the visitor had come not too long ago.
It was an hour past midnight and the group of volunteers had found their first Olive Ridley turtle nest on their nocturnal patrol on Kottivakkam beach. January to March is the peak nesting season for Olive Ridleys, which come unerringly to the beaches in Chennai and Kancheepuram. Groups working towards the conservation of the species say the nesting season this year has been a promising one.
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135 nests along Chennai
SSTCN patrols the 14 km stretch of beach from Neelankarai to Besant Nagar as well as parts of Marina beach.
Akhila Balu of the network said they found 95 nests in the Neelankarai-Besant Nagar stretch and 40 nests at Marina so far.
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“The nesting numbers this year are a lot better than last year when we found just around 100 nests. This year, however, we’ve noticed a significant warmer temperature of the sand where the turtles nest,” Ms Akhila said. Studies show that an increase in sand temperature keeps the incubation time shorter, influencing the determination of sex of the hatchlings. A shorter incubation leads to more female hatchlings, which could skew the sex ratio.
The Forest department too has been working for turtle conservation. K. Geethanjali, wildlife warden, Chennai, said that the department had found 133 nests along the beaches in Chennai and Kancheepuram. “We have volunteers who patrol the beaches and we have set up two hatcheries at Chennai and Kancheepuram,” she said.
Streetlights distract
Volunteers who have been patrolling the beaches at night looking for nests worry about bright lights along the roads near the beaches remaining on through the night. A Government Order issued in 2011 said the lights erected on the mast all along the coat from Adyar Estuary to Neelankarai should be switched off from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. during the Olive Ridley season—specified as January to April.
On a public turtle walk from Neelankarai to Besant Nagar beach last weekend, volunteers found most lights on the beach-side road on.
“Volunteer groups are aware of the beaches that need to be dark and the local body should implement this rule strictly. Earlier this month, one of our volunteers found a turtle moving towards the road from the beach, attracted by bright lights,” said Supraja Dharini, chairperson, TREE Foundation.
Volunteers from the Foundation patrol the beaches from Neelankarai to Alambarai during the nesting season.
“The number of turtles found dead this year has been significantly low and we are attributing this to the fact that there has been lesser trawling activity in December due to the harsh weather and other concerns. This is the time that a number of turtles are in the water, migrating,” she said.