553 tagged turtles returned to Rushikulya in three years: Scientist
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Berhampur: Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district is emerging as a major rookery for
Olive Ridley turtles
due to active participation of local people in the protection and conservation of these endangered sea turtles, said wildlife experts at a meeting organised by Khallikote forest range at Purunabandh to mark World Turtle Day on Friday.
Senior scientist at the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) Anil Mohapatra said 553 turtles returned to the rookery for nesting in the last three years, with 365 of them this year. He said around 12,000 female turtles were tagged by the ZSI and forest department during the 2021-23 period at the Rushikulya rookery to monitor their movement. "We recaptured over 553 of them at the same site so far. This indicates that they prefer to visit the rookery for mass nesting.
The reason being safety and strict protection measures," he added.
Mohapatra said a record number of baby Olive Ridley turtles also emerged from the pits and moved towards the sea with the help of forest staff and local volunteers. Around 9 lakh Olive Ridley turtles visited the beach for mass nesting in two phases this year.
While 6,98,698 Olive Ridleys laid eggs on the beach in their first phase of mass nesting from Feb 16 to 23 in the five-km stretch from Podampeta to Bateswar, over 2.05 lakh turtles laid eggs in the same stretch in the second phase of mass nesting from March 22 to 27, said Dibya Shankar Behera, assistant conservator of forest (ACF), in-charge of Khallikote range.
"It's high time the govt takes immediate steps to expedite the proposal for setting up a turtle research centre near the rookery," said Rabindra Nath Sahu, secretary of Rushikulya Sea Turtle Protection Committee, an organisation working on the conservation and protection of the Olive Ridleys.
The forest department identified around 3.5 acres of govt land near Purunabandh for establishment of the proposed centre, sources said. Shankar Naryan Bez, co-ordinator of the district eco-club, lauded the community participation in the protection and conservation of the Olive Ridley turtles.
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