Mass nesting of olive ridleys started at Odisha’s Rushikulya rookery coast from early hours of Saturday.
According to an unofficial estimate, around 2,000 turtles dug up nests in the sand to lay their eggs. Each nest, on an average, contains around 100 eggs. Usually these turtles nest in darkness, but there have been instances in the past when they have nested during day time.
According to Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Amlan Nayak, at around 3.10a.m., mother olive ridleys started coming of the sea to the beach. The nesting process went on till the sunrise.
“Thousands of mother olive ridleys are in the sea near the Rushikulya rookery, which hints that on Saturday night and on the next few nights, thousands of these marine turtles may arrive for mass nesting,” said the DFO.
Proper enumeration of nesting turtles will start from Saturday night.
As per the experts, rain at the rookery delayed nesting by seven to 10 days. Rain had tightened the sand on the beach and mass nesting process started only when it got dried.
Published - March 21, 2020 11:30 pm IST
