Odisha: Over 1.48 crore turtles hatch at Gahirmatha beach

A total of 1.48 crore baby Olive Ridley turtles emerged out of eggshells at Gahirmatha beach in Odisha, officials told PTI on May 8. Olive Ridley turtles have enlisted a vulnerable species by the IUCN and the inhabited Gahirmatha beach serves as a critical nesting place for the species. This year, roughly 3.49 lakh females turtles turned up for mass nesting or arribada.

“A total of 1.48 crore of baby turtles have broken out of eggshells to mingle in the Gahirmatha seawaters till Thursday, marking the grand culmination of the annual sojourn of Olive Ridley sea turtles to this unmanned Gahirmatha Island," said Bikash Ranjan Dash, the Divisional Forest Officer of Bhitarkanika Mangrove (Wildlife).

Rare phenomena

All the baby turtles were born without mothers, a phenomenon rare to the species.  The hatching of eggs commenced on April 25 and went on for nearly two weeks before reaching an end. Speaking to PTI, Dash revealed that the newborns are being kept under round-the-clock vigil and protection. All the recently born Olive Ridley still around the beach for a few seconds before making their journey towards the sea.

Amidst the coronavirus pandemic, female turtles are reportedly returning to the same beach from where they hatched, to lay their eggs. And the coast of Odisha is the largest mass nesting site for them. However, human intrusion and the piles of waste on the coast has kept them from nesting in 2019.  However, with restrictions in place for the COVID-19 threat which has prevented possible intrusion by humans, especially tourists, lakhs of Olive Ridley turtles have returned to Gahirmatha beach and the rookeries in Rushikulya for mass nesting.

Representative Image: DrAshJac/Twitted