Olive Ridleys find a saviour in Puri village

BHUBANESWAR: The mother Olive Ridley sea turtles lay their eggs on the shore along the Bay of Bengal near the mouth of Devi river in Puri, but they are not sure about the safety of eggs. Predators like jackals, hyenas and dogs pose a threat to the eggs.
But the good news is that these turtles, considered an endangered species, have found saviours in nearby villagers of Astarang block. The villagers have formed a community conservation group, which is supported by Action for Protection of Wild Animals (APOWA), an NGO. The dedicated villagers have acquired the skills of identifying the pits where the eggs are laid and protecting them.

Last year, the villagers' initiative had led to securing as many as 874 nesting pits of the turtles. Each pit has more than 100 eggs. It was not easy to protect the eggs at the Devi river mouth as it has not witnessed mass nesting since 1997. The government has banned fishing in the area to protect the turtle, but it is not enough. "We formed a group of protectors, trained them and the result is that each year we are able to secure increasing number of nests," said Bijay Kumar Kabi, director, APOWA.

Ever since the villagers started guarding the shore, nesting has increased. Primarily, dogs and hyena take shelter in the casuarina plantation that the government has developed along the beach as part of cyclone protection. The wild animals keep loitering on the beach and eat the eggs and the baby turtle too. "First, because of the vigilance, the dog menace has reduced. Secondly, we shift the egg very carefully from the pit to a nearby artificial hatching point, where they are kept until eggs are hatched," said community conservationist Ajay Kumar Kandi.

Wildlife campaigner from APOWA Suman Bindumadhav said community involvement will help restore the past practice of mass nesting at the Devi mouth. "I think one of the reasons of dwindling turtle number is lack of space on the beach," he said.

Rushikulya may become the cradle of 4.5 crore hatchlings

Around 4.50 crore hatchlings of Olive Ridley sea turtles are expected to crawl into the sea near Rushikulya river mouth off the Ganjam coast in May. Last year, the number of hatchlings stood at over 4.45 lakh.

The mass nesting took place from Purunabandh to Podampeta between February 21 and February 28. During this period, over 4.45 lakh turtles laid eggs as against over 3.70 lakh turtles last year. With each turtle laying around 120 eggs, nearly 4.50 crore eggs had been laid by February-end, wildlife experts said. The conducive weather condition, natural widening of the beach and protection measures by forest officials were some of the reasons for the record number of turtles laying eggs.

"We are expecting around 4.50 crore hatchlings will emerge from the sand pits after 50 days of nesting," said divisional forest officer, Berhampur, Ashish Kumar Behera. He said the survival rate of baby turtles in the sea was about 1:1000.

Similarly, the sex of the hatchlings is determined by the temperature. At a relatively cold temperature, the hatchings become male and if the temperature is high, the hatchlings are mostly females, said an expert. The DFO said the forest department has taken all necessary steps to protect the eggs in the rookery. Around 70 personnel, including locals, have been engaged to keep a watch on the eggs. After the turtles return to the sea after laying eggs, predators like jackals, wild dogs, wild boars and birds try to eat the eggs. The forest department has also fenced the area, he added.