Over 600K Olive Ridley turtles lay eggs in Odisha

Over 641,000 Olive Ridley sea turtles have laid eggs at the Rushikulya rookery in Ganjam district in this ongoing nesting season, surpassing the previous record of 637,000 turtles in the 2022-23 season, officials said on Saturday.

- Debabrata Mohanty

BHUBANESWAR:

By the time the nesting season, locally known as arribada, ends in the first week of March, the number of turtles is expected to go up to 700,000 at the Rushikulya sea beach between Podampeta to Bateshwar, Prem Kumar Jha, principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) of Odisha, said.

"Record-breaking 6.41 lakh Olive Ridley Turtles have arrived at Rushikulya for the arribada. It's a great news," he said.

Olive Ridley turtles are the smallest species of marine turtles that normally lay eggs in Rushikulya and Gahirmatha beaches of Odisha. The Rushikulya beach in Ganjam district, is one of the world's largest nesting sites, apart from the coasts of Mexico and Costa Rica.