Olive Ridley turtles on Gahirmatha beach (file picture)

Paradip, Feb. 18: Environmentalists and wildlife enthusiasts are worried that the Olive Ridley turtles might skip this year’s visit to Gahirmatha beach for mass nesting.

Has the rapidly fragmenting, steep beach anything to do with the marine turtles delaying their visit? Did trawl fishing and human interference affect their privacy? Or is it global warming and climate change.

These points have come into focus even as there are no signs of arribada, a Spanish term that describes the unique natural practice of millions of turtles converging on the nesting ground to lay eggs.

As their annual sojourn gets delayed, wildlife lovers and forest personnel are an apprehensive lot.

However, Odisha forest officials said the apprehensions were premature.

“It’s too early to conclude that turtles will skip mass nesting this year. There have been instances in the past when these animals arrived to lay eggs in March. We are still optimistic that arribada will take place towards the end of this month,” said divisional forest officer of Rajnagar mangrove (wildlife) forest division Manoj Kumar Mahapatra. Every year, Olive Ridley turtles turn up in the millions to lay eggs on Gahirmatha beach, known as their largest nesting ground in the world, in January and February.

There have been instances when the turtles made their appearance towards the first week of March. But it was never delayed beyond that.

Delay in mass nesting may also have been caused by the extended spell of winter this year. Cold weather accompanied by strong wind prevails at the nesting sites. This is not conducive to mass nesting.

Once the cold and windy weather conditions recede, the turtles may emerge from the sea for instinctive mass nesting, Mahapatra said.

Experts are still unable to explain the mystery surrounding the behaviour and habitation pattern of these marine species. They continue to prefer the Odisha coast for breeding and nesting. But nothing much is known about their destination once they leave the coast after laying eggs.

Delay in the emergence of turtles on the Gahirmatha beach might be because of many factors. But the conclusions are all speculative, said experts.

Besides the extended cold weather, sea erosion that has paved the way for rapid topographical changes on the 12-km Gahirmatha beach, might be distracting the turtles. Fragmented beaches might be dissuading their emergence for arribada too. Apart from this, the fact that the nesting ground has become steep might also be inconveniencing the turtles, said experts.