Season’s first Olive Ridley nests sighted on Cuddalore coast

The Forest Department, with the help of volunteers, have collected around 400 eggs from three nesting sites and shifted them to a hatchery in Devanampattinam

Officials of the Cuddalore Forest Range with the help of volunteers collecting Olive Ridley eggs from a nesting site on the Cuddalore coastline

The Cuddalore Forest Range has recorded this season’s first sighting of Olive Ridley nests at Sothikuppam coast near here.

The Forest Department, with the help of volunteers, have collected around 400 eggs from three nesting sites and shifted them to a hatchery in Devanampattinam.

Led by Cuddalore Forest Ranger Abdul Hamid, a team of Forest guards and volunteers collected 131 eggs from the first nest at Sothikuppam on January 13. The team also found 269 eggs from two other nests over the last one week and kept them at a temporary hatchery for safe hatching.

Classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Olive Ridleys visit the coast from January to March to lay eggs.

Last year, the Forest Department managed to collect nearly 3,200 eggs with the help of volunteers from Puducherry-based Indigenous Biodiversity Foundation (IBF).

According to a Forest Department official, the turtles listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 visit the shore from 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. during the nesting season.

“Predation of nests by feral dogs and people and incidental killing while being entangled in fishing nets or being hit by the propeller of a fishing boat, are the main reasons for deaths in recent years,” Mr. Hamid said. “The Department has now been reaching out to the fishing communities on the Cuddalore coastline to create awareness among people about collecting and protecting the turtle eggs till they are hatched,” he said.