Turtles begin hatching on Orissa coast

Bhubaneswar, Apr 19 (UNI) Thousands of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles hatchling have started crawling out of eggs laid on Rushikulya beach in Ganjam district of Orissa since the early hours yesterday, much to the delight of conservationists.

''It is a wonderful sight at Rushikulya with the beach teeming with over 100,000 hatchlings tenderly taking their first step towards water signalling the commencement of mass hatching season on the early hours of April 9,'' Biswajit Mohanty, secretary, wildlife Society of Orissa said.

Rushikulya is one of the three major nesting sites along the Orissa coast.

He said this year mass nesting had occurred on the same day as the previous year. The hatchlings normally emerge after a period of about 45-55 days depending upon the ambient sand temperature and climatic conditions. The mass-nesting phase had started around mid-February this year.

Volunteers from local youth clubs, villagers, men from state forest department and NGOs have been keeping vigil to protect the eggs from dogs, jackals and predators since the nesting season began.

Stating that Olive Ridley sea turtles are highly endangered since they face dangers at every stage in their lives including natural causes, Mr Mohanty said only one out of every 1,000 eggs ultimately survives to become an adult sea turtle. Turtle hatchlings normally emerge in the evening hours only and move towards the sea under the cover of darkness, which ensures that they are safe from predators and the hot sun. And strong sunlight can dry them up during the day.

They have to face many enemies since they are preyed on by sea gulls, crows and animals like jackals, dogs and wild pigs as they scamper towards the sea especially during the early morning hours.

Predatory catfish in the sea also eat them when they enter the sea, turtle watchers say.

Expressing concern, Mr Mohanty, who is also the coordinator of operation Kachhapa, an NGO, also referred to the unresolved issue of illumination at Rushikulya beach. The hatchlings, which determine the direction of the sea by moonlight reflecting off the waves, get confused by any other source of light and start moving towards it, ending up in dry land and ultimately dying of dehydration, if lucky enough to survive predators till then.

''Lights from nearby townships of Humma and Ganja (both in Ganjam district) disorients the tiny turtles and makes them travel towards the land. Similarly vehicle lights from the nearby National Highway No. 5 triggers distractions. Thousands of hatchlings used to die every year due to such disorientation, which causes them to move towards the land instead of the sea. A natural tree belt could shield the babies from such lights'', insisted Mr Mohanty.

In fact, to protect the disoriented hatchlings, the forest department has put up low level protection nets over a stretch of 3 km on the landward side to stop them. Local volunteers and forest department staff also release them into the sea after picking up the disoriented hatchlings in buckets.

Experts say the hatchlings leave the Orissa coast travelling far with the help of ocean currents to foraging grounds and return to breed and nest only when they become adults after 7-15 years.

Meanwhile, The Indian Coast guard has come out to protect and support Olive Ridley turtles at Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife sanctuary - world's largest known rookery of Olive Ridley sea turtle.

Located in the coastal Kendrapara district, Gahirmatha loses thousands of turtles to nets used by mechanised fishing trawlers or to their propellers. Ironically, there is a legal order prohibiting mechanised trawlers from operating within five km of the coast.

''Our duty is to protect the turtles. Many times, I have to send my aircraft to remove trawlers but we do regular patrolling of these areas,'' Indian Coast Guard Commandant Navdeep Raj said.

Further, releasing '' I witness'' - a report on the mass deaths of Olive Ridley turtles, environmental pressure group Greenpeace said as many as 2,127 dead turtles had washed ashore in the Devi river mouth region in Puri district alone. ''This will be just a fraction of the population killed every year, as many carcasses are never washed ashore,'' Greenpeace India campaigner Ashish Fernandes stated.

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