Bhubaneswar: More than 1 crore hatchlings of Olive Ridley turtles have already emerged from their sandy nests and gone into the sea along Odisha coast in the last few days.
According to sources in the Forest department, lakhs of Olive Ridleys had visited different sea beaches along the coast as part of their annual sojourn this year. They had dug up pits and laid eggs there before going back into the sea.
It is estimated that around 11.64 lakh Olive Ridleys laid eggs at Gahirmatha in Kendrapada district, Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam and Devi estuary area in Puri this year, the sources said. While 6.37 lakh turtles laid eggs in Rushikulya, their number was 5.26 lakh at Gahirmatha, they added.
They expected that around 2 crore more baby turtles will hatch along the coast before the end of this year’s nesting season.
Normally, the Olive Ridleys visit Odisha coast between November and second week of March and the baby turtles emerge in April and May.
