The forest officials are optimistic about the occurrence of mass- nesting or ‘arribada’, a Spanish term for mass nesting, very shortly.
Photo: IANS
Ahead of the mass egg-laying phenomenon, sporadic nesting of olive ridley turtles has begun at Gahirmatha nesting ground, world’s largest known rookery of the marine animals.
Every year, millions of Olive Ridley sea turtles emerge on the tranquil Gahirmatha beach to lay eggs during February-March- which is perceived as a rare natural phenomenon and breathtaking sight for beholders.
“Small group of turtles have crawled their way to the nesting beach at outer wheelers’ Island and have begun laying eggs. Sporadic nesting of turtles is a positive sign and is a prelude to en-masse emergence of turtles for laying eggs,” said Debashis Bhoi, the forest range officer of the marine sanctuary.
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The forest officials are optimistic about the occurrence of mass- nesting or ‘arribada’, a Spanish term for mass nesting, very shortly.
Last year, 3,49,694 female turtles had turned up at the nesting grounds to lay eggs from 9 March to 23 March.
The female turtles virtually invade the nesting beaches, usually at the dead of the night, for laying eggs, the phenomenon described as ‘arribada’. After laying eggs, the turtles leave the nesting ground to stride into the deep sea water. Hatchlings emerge from these eggs after 45-60 days.
Gahirmatha beach off the Bay of Bengal coast is widely regarded as World’s largest-known nesting ground of these animals. Apart from Gahirmatha, these threatened aquatic animals turn up at Rushikulya river mouth and Devi river mouth for mass nesting.
The ground-level staff are maintaining vigil on the beach to save the nests from predators like wild dogs, hyenas and jackals. Turtle protection squads are on the job to guard the marine sanctuary seawaters, with fishing activities being banned to ensure the safety of breeding turtles, the official added.
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