Bhubaneswar: Endangered Olive Ridley turtles have skipped their annual mass nesting at Gahirmatha beach in Kendrapara district this year. Gahiramatha, located near Bhitarkanika National Park, is recognized as the world’s largest-known rookery where millions of Olive Ridley turtles usually gather between January and March to lay eggs.
Divisional Forest Officer of Mangrove Forest Division (Wildlife), Rajnagar, Varadaraj Gaonkar, said that while turtles have occasionally arrived towards the end of March in the past, nesting has never been delayed beyond that period. He noted that turtles have already begun mass nesting at the Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district, another major rookery in the state. However, they are yet to appear at Gahirmatha.
“There is a possibility of turtles skipping mass nesting this year like they did in 2014, but we are not ruling out their arrival. Weather conditions and the beach profile at Agarnasi are still ideal for mass nesting,” Gaonkar said. The mass arrival of female turtles, known as ‘arribada’—a Spanish term for the phenomenon—is a unique natural event where millions of turtles converge on the beach at night to lay eggs before returning to sea.
“It is tough to predict why they have not appeared at the nesting beach so far,” the DFO added. Wildlife experts suspect unchecked trawl fishing and human interference may have disturbed the turtles, though no definite reason has been established.
Officials said studies on turtle behaviour are ongoing, but their habitation patterns remain a mystery. “Non-emergence at Gahirmatha may be due to multiple factors, but these are still speculation,” an official said. Records show turtles previously skipped arribada at Gahirmatha in 2014, 2008, 2002, 1998, 1997, 1988, and 1982. In 2025, around 6.06 lakh turtles arrived at Gahirmatha over five days starting March 5 for mass nesting.
