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Gahirmatha staff to play foster mother to 100 Olive Ridleys
The forest personnel collected nearly 100 eggs from nests of Olive Ridley sea turtles at Babubali and Dobanda (Pentha) beaches under Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary. This year, they spotted nearly 10 nests of the sea turtles, said Rajnagar Mangrove and Wildlife Division DFO Manoj Kumar Mohapatra.
The Bhitaraknika forest department has set up artificial hatcheries at Barunei, Pentha ,Babubali and Agarnasi under the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary to hatch eggs and later release the hatchlings near the shore and also to protect the eggs from the predators like jackal, wild boars, dogs and birds, Mohapatra said.
Sea turtles, in general, nest at night. During the breeding season, males and females migrate from their feeding ground to the breeding ground, where mating occurs in the offshore waters. The female turtles tend to move towards the beaches in large synchronised concentrations. They lay their eggs in 45 centimetre pits, which they dig with their rear flippers. After laying the eggs in the pits, the female turtles cover the nests with sand and return to the sea in a zigzag manner to confuse predators about the location of the nests.
The female lays 120-140 eggs in a go. Hatchlings emerge from these eggs after 45-60 days and find their way to the sea creating a cacophony.
The forest department has also set up 14 onshore and two offshore camps under the marine sanctuary to restrict illegal entry of trawlers to the sanctuary to protect the turtles. Significantly, these endangered marine species are accorded threatened status like the tigers as per schedule-I of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. They are protected under the ‘migratory species convention’ and CITES (convention of International Trade on Wildlife Flora and Fauna), forest officials added.
To protect the endangered marine species, the forest department has banned all types of fishing within 20 km off Gahiramatha from November 1 to May 31.
The forest personnel collected nearly 100 eggs from nests of Olive Ridley sea turtles at Babubali and Dobanda (Pentha) beaches under Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary. This year, they spotted nearly 10 nests of the sea turtles, said Rajnagar Mangrove and Wildlife Division DFO Manoj Kumar Mohapatra.
The Bhitaraknika forest department has set up artificial hatcheries at Barunei, Pentha ,Babubali and Agarnasi under the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary to hatch eggs and later release the hatchlings near the shore and also to protect the eggs from the predators like jackal, wild boars, dogs and birds, Mohapatra said.
Sea turtles, in general, nest at night. During the breeding season, males and females migrate from their feeding ground to the breeding ground, where mating occurs in the offshore waters. The female turtles tend to move towards the beaches in large synchronised concentrations. They lay their eggs in 45 centimetre pits, which they dig with their rear flippers. After laying the eggs in the pits, the female turtles cover the nests with sand and return to the sea in a zigzag manner to confuse predators about the location of the nests.
The female lays 120-140 eggs in a go. Hatchlings emerge from these eggs after 45-60 days and find their way to the sea creating a cacophony.
The forest department has also set up 14 onshore and two offshore camps under the marine sanctuary to restrict illegal entry of trawlers to the sanctuary to protect the turtles. Significantly, these endangered marine species are accorded threatened status like the tigers as per schedule-I of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. They are protected under the ‘migratory species convention’ and CITES (convention of International Trade on Wildlife Flora and Fauna), forest officials added.
To protect the endangered marine species, the forest department has banned all types of fishing within 20 km off Gahiramatha from November 1 to May 31.
