More than 400 Olive Ridley turtles, a threatened species, returned to Rushikulya beach in Ganjam to lay eggs after skipping the site last year.
Officials noted that with egg-laying completed, hatchlings are expected to start emerging from April 8 until mid-May.
Anil Mohapatra, senior scientist at the Zoological Survey of India’s regional centre in Gopalpur, told The Telegraph, “We began tagging the endangered turtles in 2020 to decipher their migratory patterns over thousands of miles to the Odisha coast. The study aims to ascertain if they return to the same beach for nesting. We’ve equipped Olive Ridleys with uniquely numbered metal flipper tags.”
“Since 2020, we have tagged over 10,000 Olive Ridleys. This year, we’ve spotted over 400 tagged turtles on the beach, though there are likely more that remain uncounted along the extensive Rushikulya beach,” Mohapatra added.
He explained, “Their return confirms the beach’s suitability for nesting. Despite last year’s absence, it remains a favorable site for laying eggs. Post-nesting, they sometimes travel as far as Sri Lanka and then return to Odisha. Turtles with our metal flippers have also been found in Sri Lankan waters.”
Annually, Olive Ridleys nest along Odisha’s coastline from Gahirmatha in Kendrapara to the Rushikulya River mouth in Ganjam, a stretch covering nearly 300km of the state’s 470 kilometer coastline.
Forest department sources indicated that as of March 27, about 904,517 turtles had laid eggs in two phases. Approximately 698,718 turtles nested between February 15 and March 23, with an additional 205,799 turtles laying eggs from March 20 to 27.
Dibya Shankar Behera, assistant conservator of forests, attributed last year’s absence to sudden rainfall that wet the beach, making it difficult for turtles to dig and lay eggs. Turtles prefer dry sand for easier excavation and nest covering.
He also mentioned that sand erosion was another factor contributing to the absence of last year’s nesting.
This year, over 1.5 million Olive Ridley turtles visited the Odisha coast, including 900,000 at Rushikulya and 600,000 at Gahirmatha in Kendrapara. “There may also have been sporadic nesting on other beaches along the coast,” officials noted.