Kendrapara (Odisha), Mar 9: Endangered Olive Ridley turtles have returned to the Eakakulanasi island in the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary of Odisha for mass nesting after a gap of 33 years, an official confirmed.
The beach on the island had previously experienced severe erosion, which led to a reduction in the beach's size. However, since 2020, the beach has been undergoing natural accretion, leading to its expansion. This process has created a favorable environment for the turtles to return in large numbers to lay their eggs.
The turtles last appeared on the beach in 1992 when around 300,000 turtles had laid their eggs there.
"This is a highly encouraging development for the ongoing turtle conservation efforts managed by the Odisha Forest Department," the official said.
The length of the Ekakulanasi beach, which was once around 4 kilometers, has now increased to 8 kilometers due to the natural accretion process. Over the past two days, approximately 170,000 turtles have arrived to nest on this beach. In addition to Ekakulanasi, the Nasi-2 beach has also become a popular nesting site, with 263,000 turtles nesting there.
