Bhubaneswar: In a heartening news for environmentalists, thousands of Olive Ridley sea turtle hatchlings emerged from their nests along the Rushikulya rookery in Ganjam district on Wednesday and instinctively crawled towards the Bay of Bengal.
The mass hatching follows a four-day mass nesting earlier this season, when approximately 2.05 lakh female Olive Ridley turtles came ashore between March 14 and 17 to lay eggs. After depositing their eggs in the sand, the adult females returned to the sea, leaving the next generation to fend for themselves.
Assistant Conservator of Forests Dibya Shankar Behera said forest officials have implemented multiple protective measures to safeguard the vulnerable hatchlings. Local volunteers and wildlife activists have been actively supporting the forest department in monitoring the beach and ensuring minimal disturbance to the newborns during their critical journey to the ocean.
Rushikulya is one of India’s most significant Olive Ridley nesting grounds, alongside the world-renowned Gahirmatha beach — recognised as the largest such site globally — and the Devi river mouth in Puri district. These coastal stretches in Odisha play a crucial role in the survival of this vulnerable marine species.
However, this year’s nesting season recorded a noticeable drop in numbers. Around 2 lakh nesting events were documented at Rushikulya, a sharp decline from nearly 9 lakh reported during the previous season. The mass nesting also concluded within just four days, shorter than in earlier years.
Experts link the reduced nesting to several environmental challenges, including delayed southern winds, erratic weather patterns, beach erosion, and untimely rainfall during the nesting period. There are also indications that some turtles may have chosen alternative nesting beaches this season.
