Rookeries come up for Olive Ridley turtles in A.P.

With large numbers of Olive Ridley turtles being sighted along the coastline of Andhra Pradesh, wildlife authorities here have intensified measures to ensure a safe nesting season for them.

Their primary focus is on the wildlife sanctuaries situated along the coastline — the Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary in the Krishna district, the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary in the East Godavari district, as well as strategic beaches (from Baruva and Bhavanapadu on the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border to the beaches of Nellore on the Andhra Pradesh-Tamil Nadu borders).

As many as six rookeries have been set up for current breeding season in Krishna district alone. Three rookeries have been set up in Guntur district. “Only three of them can be reached by road. The rest of the sites can only be reached by boat,” said Ms. Bhavani, ranger in Avanigadda.

She added, “Since January 22, 141 turtles have been sighted within the Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary and 16,240 eggs have been collected for conservation in the rookeries.”

Visakhapatnam coast

Over 800 nestings of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles may take place this year along the Visakhapatnam coast, extending from the Tantadi village in the Cheepurupalle mandal to the Pedanadapalem village in the Bheemunipatnam mandal in Visakhapatnam district.

Five hatcheries have been identified along the coast — three are in the urban or city region and two are in rural beaches such as Tantadi and Pedanadapalem.

The Visakha Society for Protection and Care of Animals is working with the Forest Department to protect the nests along the Visakhapatnam coast. Though the turtles have been using the beaches here for nesting since time immemorial, the awareness and protection programme began in 1996 and, till date, about 7 lakh hatchlings have been let into the sea, said Pradeep Nath of the VSPCA.