The annual mass nesting of Olive Ridley turtles began at the Rushikulya river mouth in Odisha’s Ganjam district early Sunday, as over 10,000 turtles arrived to lay eggs along the sandy beach, forest officials said.
According to Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer Sunny Khokkar, around 10,220 female turtles emerged from the Bay of Bengal under the moonlight, depositing eggs along a 2.5-km stretch of beach during the first day of the phenomenon, known locally as ‘arribada’.
This initial mass nesting was followed by sporadic nesting activity from an additional 5,700 turtles, Khokkar noted.
Wildlife experts anticipate the event will persist for several more days, citing favourable weather and optimal beach conditions.
Officials noted that this year’s nesting began roughly a month later than in 2025. Last year, the first ‘arribada’ phase ran from February 15 to February 22, with a second wave in late March, resulting in a total of more than 9.04 lakh turtles laying eggs, according to forest department data.
Vishwanath Neelannavar, Regional Chief Conservator of Forests (Berhampur), stated that the window between February and April is typically the peak season for mass nesting at the Rushikulya rookery.
To protect the nesting site, the forest department has mobilised 10 protection squads and prohibited public access to the four-km nesting stretch, with checkpoints established at Gokharkuda and Podampeta to manage crowds.
A dedicated awareness camp has also been set up at nearby Bateshwar beach to educate the public.
Assistant Conservator of Forests Diby Shankar Behera said that the nesting grounds have been fenced to keep out predators like jackals and wild dogs, while teams maintain 24-hour surveillance to ensure the safety of the eggs.
During the nesting process, female turtles migrate to the shore to dig sandy pits, laying between 100 and 150 eggs each before returning to the ocean. These eggs usually hatch in 45 to 50 days, though the mothers are long gone by the time the hatchlings emerge.
