How olive ridley turtles begin a new journey in Odisha coast, watch
Every year, these turtles come from the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean to the coast of Odisha and lay eggs
The rare olive ridley turtles begin a new journey following their birth in Odisha coast. The turtles have already hatched at the Astarang coast. Also, the baby turtles have come out of the sand and gone to the sea.
This natural phenomenon of the Olive Ridley turtle is going on since long here in Odisha coast. Every year, these turtles come from the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean to the coast of Odisha and lay eggs. Later the babies hatch and emerge from the sand and slowly move to the sea. Maybe they grow up and return here again after years as adult female turtles to lay eggs.
It is difficult to understand why the turtles travel thousands of miles to arrive and lay eggs on Odisha coast.
The sight of the baby turtles venturing to the sea is very attractive.
The spawning season of this rare marine species is over. These turtles travel thousands of kilometers to the coast of Odisha every year to lay their eggs. The habitat of these turtles is the deep waters of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. They prefer five places on earth when laying eggs. Out of them Odisha has three places — Gahirmatha, Rushikulya and Devi River mouth area.
Every year in November, turtles come to the sea in the Devi River mouth area. The mating process begins from December.
Why do these creatures prefer Odisha coast for spawning? This is so because this is a perfect place for laying eggs. There is an inexhaustible treasure of fine sand here. Besides, their favourite food, jelly fish, is found in abundance here. That is why millions of olive ridley turtles visit Odisha’s Debi River mouth, Rushikulya and Gahirmatha every year.
The mating process of these turtles takes place from November to January. Then within 45 and 50 days after the mating process, female Olive Ridley turtles lay eggs in the sand dunes. Turtles dig holes in the sand and lay their eggs in them. A female turtle lays 80 to 120 eggs at a time. They bury the eggs and return to the sea.
As the Olive Ridley turtles return to the beach of Devi Muhan basin after laying their eggs, the responsibility of Astarang Forest Department staff to protect the eggs increases. The forest officials visit the beach early in the morning and bring the eggs to keep them safely in a temporary hatchery. Within 45 to 60 days of spawning, the young turtles emerge from the nest. It is very exciting to see the pictures of the hatchlings emerging from the sand.
As a natural process, the hatchlings emerge out of the one-and-a-half to two-foot-deep sand dunes as if to get a glimpse of the sun. After the baby turtles emerge from the sand, forest officials put them in plastic buckets and release them on the beach. After getting released, the baby turtles follow the sound of the sea and move into it.
A captivating sight can be seen when these babies venture into the sea. As if they move into the sea to realize the dreams of a new morning and a new generation. They leave their homeland and go thousands of miles away to begin new life.
Ms Kalinga