More than 2.22 crore of endangered Olive Ridley sea turtle hatchlings broke out of egg shells and made their way into the swirling water of the sea at the mass nesting sites of Nasi-2, the world's largest rookery of the species, within a span of four days from April 29 to May 2.
Rajnagar Mangrove (forest) and Wildlife Division DFO Sudarshan Gopinath Jadhav informed that the baby turtles have been emerging at the tranquil sandy nesting ground at Nasi-2, located near the establishment of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at the Wheeler’s Island under the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary since April 29. The emergence of hatchlings from egg shells is expected to continue for at least two more days.
Notably, as many as 5, 12,175 Olive Ridley sea turtles came ashore en masse to the golden beach of Nasi-2 and laid eggs within a span of four days from March 9 to 13. Due to multi-layering at Nasi-2, more than 20 percent of the eggs laid were destroyed in some of the segments. Predators like crows and seagulls also destroyed some eggs.
Forest personnel have been deployed on the beach to protect the baby turtles from predators and pave the way for their return to the sea, informed DFO Jadhav. As bright lights generally disorient the turtle hatchlings going to the sea, the authority of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at Wheeler’s Island has masked bright lights from its precincts, the DFO added.