Kendrapara: Mass nesting by Olive Ridley turtles at the Gahirmatha beach in Odisha's Kendrapara district is likely to surpass an 18-year-old record as around 6,62,320 turtles have so far laid eggs at the beach this year, reports said.

While the figure stood at 7,11,500 during 1999-2000 and 7,40,00 in 2000-2001, the beach later witnessed decrease in the number of Olive Ridley turtles participating in the mass nesting.

However, this year's promising numbers are all set to break the previous records. Besides, it is the third highest in terms of numbers of turtles laying eggs at the beach.

Worth mentioning, around 200 Olive Ridley turtles were part of the mass nesting on March 5, 5640 turtles on March 6, 1,28,000 on March 7, 1,16,000 on March 8, 2,23,000 on March 9, 82,200 on March 10 and 7,280 on March 11.