Dikhyaa Mohanty 
At around 1.48 crore baby turtles of the endangered Olive Ridley species have emerged out of the eggshells at the Gahirmatha Beach in Kendrapara district, Odisha.
According to the reports, the uninhabited Gahirmatha Island is now witnessing the unique natural phenomenon which is the birth of baby turtles sans mothers. Around 1.48 crore baby turtle of Olive Ridley have emerged out of the eggshells to mingle in the Gahirmatha seawaters. These numbers have marked as the grand culmination of the annual sojourn of Olive Ridley sea turtles to this unmanned Gahirmatha Island.
As per Bikash Ranjan Dash, the Divisional Forest Officer of Bhitarkanika Mangrove (Wildlife) these 1.48 crore of baby turtles of the endangered Olive Ridley species have managed to come off the eggshell at the Gahirmatha beach in Odisha’s Kendrapara district.
The report further added that the birth of the turtles began on April 25 and the annual event has now reached its fag-end. He further added that the babies have emerged from 2.98 lakh nests dug by female turtles to lay eggs at the Nasi-ii Island, close to defence installation at the Wheelers” Island, and the round-the-clock vigil is being maintained to ensure the safety of the newborns.
Bikash Ranjan Dash later added that after emerging from the nests, the baby turtles loiter on the beach for an hour or so before starting their journey towards the sea. Gahirmatha beach is widely regarded as the world’s largest nesting ground for these endangered species, and this year, 3.49 lakh female turtles had turned up for mass nesting, a phenomenon called “arribada”.
He later stated that as the nests were not damaged and remained mostly intact; hatchlings were on the higher side. Each female lays around 100 to 120 eggs. Hatchlings emerge out of the eggshells after 45-50 days of the incubation period.
Image Source – Google
