A record 6.06 Lakh Olive Ridley Sea Turtles lay eggs at Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary

Kendrapara, March 11 -- A record 6,06,399 endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles have arrived for mass nesting on the beaches of Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, the largest rookery of this species, during this season.

The Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Rajnagar Mangrove (Forest) and Wildlife Division, Sudarshan Gopinath Jadav, stated that from March 5 to March 10, an unprecedented number of Olive Ridley sea turtles came to lay eggs. This marks a record, as such a large number of Olive Ridleys have not nested in recent years.

According to Jadav, the last record for mass nesting at Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary was in 2018, when 6.64 lakh Olive Ridley sea turtles laid eggs.

He further reported that 3.11 lakh Olive Ridley sea turtles nested at ...