Bhubaneswar: The forest department of the Odisha government has set up nine units near Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district to ensure protection for Olive Ridley sea turtles. The Rushikulya river mouth, 45-km from the silk city of Berhampur, is one of the biggest rookeries in the state for the endangered sea creatures. “Thousands of pairs of Olive Ridley turtles mating on the surface of the water is a sight to behold. We are leaving no stone unturned for their safe mating and mass nesting which will start after a few days,” Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Ashish Kumar Behera said on Wednesday.
The Rushikulya river mouth is already brimming with turtles, he said. After mating, the female turtles swim ashore to lay eggs by digging pits in the sand. The hatchlings emerge 45 to 50 days after nesting. The female turtles, however, do not wait to see their eggs hatch and return to the sea. “The turtles are expected to turn up in large numbers as the beach from Gokharakuda to Purunabandh has widened naturally,” Mr Behera said.
The mass nesting, which is also known as arribada, is likely to take place in the third week of February. A record number of over 3.70 lakh sea turtles had laid eggs near the Rushikulya river mouth between February 14 and 22, this year.
Apart from the 4-km stretch from Purunabandh to Gokharakuda, thousands of turtles had laid eggs on another 2-km stretch between Podampeta and New Podampeta area. Olive Ridleys also visit Gahiramatha in Kendrapara district and Devi river mouth near Astaranga in Puri district every year for mass nesting.
