Mass hatching of Olive Ridleys at river mouth likely to begin soon | Bhubaneswar News
Berhampur: The rookery at the Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district will witness the mass hatching of Olive Ridley sea turtles from next week, officials said. Baby turtles generally hatch 45 to 50 days after mass nesting.
Mass nesting of Olive Ridley turtles in the Rushikulya rookery started on Feb 16 and continued until Feb 23 in the first phase. The second phase of mass nesting occurred from March 22 to 27. While a record number of 6,98,698 turtles laid eggs in the first phase, the number was over 2.05 lakh in the second phase.
Though sporadic hatchlings have emerged from the sand pits, mass hatching, when thousands of baby turtles emerge from the pits and head towards the sea, is yet to commence.
“The sand might be compact due to unseasonal rain last month. It may be one of the causes for the slight delay in mass hatching. But we are expecting the mass hatching any day within a week,” said Basudev Tripathy, a senior scientist at Zoological Survey of India (ZSI). “Baby turtles will emerge from the pits after the sand becomes soft,” he added.
Bivash Pandav, a senior scientist at Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, said sometimes the hatching takes place 50-60 days after nesting, depending on the weather and beach condition. “In the Rushikulya rookery, it will take place soon,” he said.
Dibya Shankar Parida, assistant conservator of forests (in-charge of Khallikote range), said they are ready for the mass hatching. “The entire 5-km stretch of the beach — from Purunabandh to Bateswar — has been fenced with mosquito nets to prevent baby turtles from going to other areas. The entire beach area was cleaned to facilitate their smooth journey to the sea,” he said.
Mass nesting of Olive Ridley turtles in the Rushikulya rookery started on Feb 16 and continued until Feb 23 in the first phase. The second phase of mass nesting occurred from March 22 to 27. While a record number of 6,98,698 turtles laid eggs in the first phase, the number was over 2.05 lakh in the second phase.
Though sporadic hatchlings have emerged from the sand pits, mass hatching, when thousands of baby turtles emerge from the pits and head towards the sea, is yet to commence.
“The sand might be compact due to unseasonal rain last month. It may be one of the causes for the slight delay in mass hatching. But we are expecting the mass hatching any day within a week,” said Basudev Tripathy, a senior scientist at Zoological Survey of India (ZSI). “Baby turtles will emerge from the pits after the sand becomes soft,” he added.
Bivash Pandav, a senior scientist at Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, said sometimes the hatching takes place 50-60 days after nesting, depending on the weather and beach condition. “In the Rushikulya rookery, it will take place soon,” he said.
Dibya Shankar Parida, assistant conservator of forests (in-charge of Khallikote range), said they are ready for the mass hatching. “The entire 5-km stretch of the beach — from Purunabandh to Bateswar — has been fenced with mosquito nets to prevent baby turtles from going to other areas. The entire beach area was cleaned to facilitate their smooth journey to the sea,” he said.
