Over the course of the past month, around two crore hatchlings of the endangered Olive Ridley turtles have crawled their way to the sea after they hatched from their eggs at the Garhirmatha sanctuary in Odisha. This marks the completiong of the annual journey that the endangered species make to the island in Odisha.
Arribada is the phenomenon when female turtle lay their eggs. Around 4.70 lakh female turtles had turned up to lay eggs at the Gahirmath beach, which is widely regarded as the world’s largest nesting ground for Olive Ridley turtles, according to Bikash Ranjan Dash, the divisional forest officer (DFO), Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife) Forest Division. He said, “The hatchlings had mostly emerged during the first fortnight of May,” adding, “According to an estimate by officials, nearly two crore turtles have emerged and found their way to the Bay of Bengal. As there was barely any disturbance, the number of hatchlings this year was considerably higher.”
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