Endangered Olive Ridley turtles have returned to Eakakulanasi island in Odisha’s Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary for mass nesting after a gap of 33 years, an official confirmed.
Assistant Conservator of Forests Manas Das attributed the phenomenon to the natural process of accretion, which has led to the elongation of the beach, making it conducive for nesting.
"The idyllic beach on the island had undergone sea erosion, leading to the beach profile getting truncated. However, the beach is currently elongated as it has started accreting since 2020. This has turned out conducive for turtles to turn up en masse to lay eggs," Das said.
The last recorded mass nesting at Eakakulanasi was in 1992, when approximately three lakh turtles laid eggs.
This year, over 1.7 lakh turtles have already arrived at the site over the past two days.
Also read: Fishing banned along Odisha coast to protect Olive Ridleys
"It’s an exceedingly positive development in the turtle protection initiative that is underway under the stewardship of Odisha Forest Department," Das added.
The process of accretion, wherein sediments return to the beach, has resulted in the extension of Eakakulanasi beach from 4 km to 8 km.
Alongside this, the Nasi-2 beach has also witnessed large-scale nesting activity, with around 2.63 lakh turtles emerging to lay eggs.
Gahirmatha beach in Kendrapara district is globally recognised as the largest nesting ground for Olive Ridley turtles.
Apart from Gahirmatha, these threatened marine species also frequent the Rushikulya and Devi river mouths for mass nesting.
After laying eggs, the turtles retreat to the sea, leaving the eggs to incubate naturally.
Hatchlings emerge after 45-50 days, in what experts describe as a rare natural phenomenon where the offspring survive without parental care.
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