Bhubaneswar, April 8: Lakhs of olive ridley sea turtle hatchlings are emerging from eggs and crawling to the sea at the Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district over the past few days.

"The hatchlings of the endangered olive ridley turtles began their return journey to their natural habitat into the sea. The mass nesting began on April 6, and it is expected to continue for the next seven days," said Berhampur divisional forest officer Asish Kumar Behera.

This year during the mass nesting, more than 3.70 lakh turtles had assembled at the Rushikulya rookery between February 13 and 22, setting an all-time record.

Last year, the endangered sea turtles had not turned up at the Rushikulya river mouth for mass nesting.

"The hatchlings typically emerge around 45 to 55 days after the mother turtle lays the eggs. But as the weather is hotter this year, the process took 47 to 48 days," said the divisional forest officer.

After laying eggs, the mother turtles return to the sea. Buried in sand, the eggs incubate with the help of natural heat and hatch in around 45 days.

Hatching occurs during the night or before dawn. Guided by their genetic instincts, the hatchlings come out like bubbles and start their march to the sea on their own.

Hatching takes place at night and the baby turtles instinctively follow the natural light from the moon and stars to find the sea beach.

Nets have been fixed in the mass nesting area to prevent hatchlings from straying towards the land.

"They would be rescued and released in the sea if caught in the nets," said a wildlife personnel.

For the first time, villagers of surrounding areas such as Purunabandha, Gokharakuda, Podamapeta, Kantiagada and Prayagi have been engaged to restrict the visitors to the nesting site, said a forest official.

Some 32 students and four teachers of Delhi Public School at New Town in Calcutta visited the Rushikulya rookery today and engaged themselves in rescuing some baby turtles.

Earlier, wildlife lovers and enthusiasts had drawn the attention of the animal welfare wing of the Union government on the threats the stray dogs posed once the marine creatures started laying eggs.

The fencing keeps hyenas and wild dogs at bay from the baby turtles. The animals feed on the turtles during the night hours while crows hovering in the area do the same in the morning.