Sporadic nesting of endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles has been sighted recently by the forest personnel within Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, informed Ranger Subrata Kumar Patra.
According to Patra, in last three days as many as five nests of Olive Ridley turtles have been sighted at Nasi-I island. The endangered turtles form nests at night. During the breeding season, males and females migrate from their feeding ground to the breeding ground, where mating occurs in the offshore waters. The female turtles tend to move towards the beaches in large synchronized concentrations. They lay their eggs at midnight in 45 centimeters pits, which they dig 2-3 foot long pits to lay eggs with their rear flippers. After laying the eggs in the pits, the female turtles cover the nests with sand and return to the sea in a zigzag manner to confuse predators about the location of the nests.
According to Ranger Patra, the mating of the Olive Ridley turtles is expected to continue till January mid week .The female turtles lay 100-120 eggs in a go, he said.
The forest department has set up 16 onshore camps and two off shore camps, including Babubali and Agarnashi, to restrict illegal entry of trawlers to the sanctuary to protect the turtles. A ban order has been imposed on fishing activities inside Gahirmatha around 20 km off the shore from November 1 to May 31.