Olive Ridley turtles thrive on Odisha coast, nest count at record 5.5 lakh

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<strong>There is good news for animal lovers and environmentalists in Odisha and India, as the annual nesting season of the Olive Ridley turtles at the Rushikulya rookery located in the Ganjam district set a new record of more than 5.5 lakh nests this year.</strong></p>
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As on Sunday, the forest officials had reported the nest count of 5,50,317. Sharing details Assistant Conservator of Forests, Berhampur Division, Ashok Behera informed that this annual mass nesting had commenced from March 27 and will continue for another couple of days.</p>
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Mass Nesting at,Nasi island Rushikulya Beach 28 Year Record 6 Lakhes Number oliveridley Turtle Nesting. <a href="https://t.co/ZQYVFSjLaE">pic.twitter.com/ZQYVFSjLaE</a></p>
— Rabindranath Sahu (@Rabindr10001350) <a href="https://twitter.com/Rabindr10001350/status/1509957732232691712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
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The mass nesting record was already broken when 5,50,317 nests – the highest in the last three decades – were recorded. This according to ACF is a good indication that the coastal environment continues to be conducive for nesting.</p>
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The Forest Department has made adequate arrangements for the safe nesting by ensuring strict restrictions on movement of fishing boats and curbing of illegal activities. Talking to the media: Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer, Amlan Nayak said: “We will ensure that no problems occur during mass nesting.”</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://www.indianarrative.com/upload/news/Olive_Ridley_Turtles_At_Rushikulya3_rajpurohit2005.jpg" style="width: 720px; height: 480px;" /></p>
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Besides the mass nesting, a large number of these turtles at the Rushikulya rookery have been tagged with metallic flippers by the Zoological Survey of India with the objective of studying the migration patterns and routes of these creatures. Anil Mohapatra, ZSI scientist, told the New Indian Express: “Till date, about 6,500 turtles have been tagged. Our objective is to study the inter-rookery migration of these delicate marine species besides their gestation period.”</p>
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Spectacular <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/arribada?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#arribada</a> of Olive Ridley <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Turtles?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Turtles</a> continuing at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rushikulya?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Rushikulya</a> Rookery, one of the mass nesting sites for this species. ZSI team is monitoring the nesting population, counting the arribada throughout the night since 26th March 2022. <a href="https://t.co/DtPa2iCDpl">pic.twitter.com/DtPa2iCDpl</a></p>
— MoEF&CC (@moefcc) <a href="https://twitter.com/moefcc/status/1509191993309552644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 30, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Numbered uniquely, these tags have details including the organisation’s name, e-mail id etc and are being done to find the extent of their travel following their nesting to help in researching their behaviour.</p>
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ZSI is conducting this exercise in collaboration with the State Forest Department officials.</p>
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<strong>Also read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/science-news/prathama-the-satellite-tagged-turtle-moves-km-north-of-ratnagiri-maharashtra-159668.html">Prathama, the satellite tagged turtle moves 250 km north of Ratnagiri, Maharashtra</a></strong></p>