Over 5.57 lakh Olive Ridleys lay eggs in 4 days in Ganjam district

BERHAMPUR: Over 5.57 lakh female Olive Ridley turtles have laid eggs in the Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district till Monday morning, surpassing the previous record, forest officials said.
Mass nesting by the turtles in the rookery began on Thursday morning. "A total of 5,57,880 Olive Ridley turtles laid eggs in the rookery in the last four days, breaking the previous record," said Amlan Nayak, divisional forest officer (DFO), Berhampur.
Last year, 5,50,317 turtles laid eggs in the Rushikulya river mouth from March 27 to April 4. "This time they have surpassed the previous record of last year in four days. Moreover the mass nesting process is continuing. We hope it will continue for another two to three days," the DFO said.
Favourable weather, more space on the beach and protection are some of the reasons for a record number of Olive Ridley turtles laying eggs this time, officials said.
"We have divided the entire beach into 50 sectors and engaged over 200 forest staff and volunteers to protect the eggs. The entire site has been fenced to prevent wild dogs, jackals and other predators from entering," said Nayak. "Turtle eggs normally take 30 to 45 days to hatch. After hatching, the hatchlings make their way to the sea," he added.
"We expect more hatchlings this year due to the right time of mass nesting," said Anil Mohapatra, a senior scientist and officer in-charge, Estuarine Biology Research Centre (EBRC) at the regional centre of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Gopalpur.