In Frames | Arribada ahoy

The magic of the mass nesting of Olive Ridley turtles never fails to mesmerise; every year, the beaches of Odisha welcome hundreds of the seafaring reptiles

Olive Ridley turtles have trusted the Gahirmatha and Rushikulya beaches of Odisha for a long time now. Every year, they come ashore from the Bay of Bengal for a mass nesting season, also known as arribada, which in Spanish means arrival from the sea. This year, much to the delight of wildlife officials and activists, the scale of nesting has been bigger than usual.

Odisha has made sustained efforts to conserve the habitat of the Olive Ridley turtles, which have been classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The journey to the rookeries of Gahirmath and Rushikulya is a precarious one for the turtles that must swim thousands of kilometres in an annual quest for the right conditions for nesting. Once ashore, the turtles make nests in the sand, lay the eggs, cover them with sand and return to the ocean. This year, many of them could be spotted even during daytime.

According to estimates, only one turtle reaches adulthood from a batch of 1,000 eggs because of the many hurdles along the way. Hatchlings emerge 40-45 days after the eggs are laid. Many eggs are damaged during high tide and due to beach erosion.

Wildlife experts said that the right conditions and clean beaches may have contributed to the early nesting this year. The numbers have already crossed last year’s figure of 5.5 lakh Olive Ridley turtles nesting on Odisha beaches between March 28 and April 4. This year’s final number will be calculated at the end of the nesting season.