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Laying eggs off season

Photo: Lingaraj Panda

An Olive Ridley turtle off Gokharakuda coast in Ganjam district on Tuesday. —

BERHAMPUR: A group of Olive Ridley turtles was noticed near the Orissa coast, involved in sporadic nesting of Olive Ridley at some places including the Rushikulya rookery this month. Usually the mass nesting of migratory Olive Ridley turtles occur on the Orissa coast from the second week of February. But this year during past one week sporadic nesting of Olive Ridley was seen on the beach near Rushikulya river mouth.

As per wild life experts, the visit of female Olive Ridley turtles to the coast to lay eggs at this time of the year is not related to any migratory nature of the turtles. These are those Olive Ridley turtles which have preferred to stay back near the coast for the last few years, which are now known as ‘Residential Olive Ridley turtles’.

These turtles were seen in small numbers at a distance of more than 20 km from the coast line by the traditional fishermen who have been venturing into the sea near Ganjam coast, said Mangaraj Panda a social activist working with the fishermen community.

Wildlife experts say that sporadic laying of eggs by Olive Ridley turtles near Rushikulya river is not unusual as the species lay eggs throughout the year except during summers and monsoon, when the beaches are not conducive for laying eggs. However, the recent nesting of Olive Ridley on the coast is not related to migratory turtles as no mating of turtles was observed in the sea before this sporadic nesting.

According to Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) S.N. Mohapatra, a female Olive Ridley turtle can store sperms without fertilisation inside the body up to three years.

According to him the small number of turtles that have laid eggs on the Rushikulya river mouth coast during past one week are residential Olive Ridley turtles of this region, which have found the climate on the onset of winter conducive to lay eggs by fertilising their ovum with sperms collected from copulation which might have taken place a year back.

Forest officials and environmental activists are enthused by the news that a few Olive Ridley turtles preferred the sea near Orissa coast fit for living.

But they are still worried about the turtles, which have not yet migrated to Rushikulya river for nesting last year.

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