Odisha: Over 2 crore Olive Ridley hatchlings make their way into sea

Sambad English Bureau Published On : May 8, 2020 at 11:12 AM

Kendrapara: COVID-19 outbreak turned out to be boon for widllife and environment as over 2 crore Olive Ridley hatchlings made their way into the gushing seawater recently without hindrance.

According to source in the forest department, total 2,05,10,000 hatchlings began their new journey into the Bay of Bengal, their source location, in five days. Such a big number of hatchlings emerged out of the eggs is the highest in a past decade. The process will continue in next two days.

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A total of 4.7 lakh endangered sea turtles had laid eggs at Gahirmatha, Babubali island, Agarnasi island, Pentha, Satabhaya beach and Barunei River Mouth for eight days between March 14 and 21, out of which the hatchlings have started coming out of eggs.

As per information from the forest department, as many as 68.60 lakh hatchlings on May 2, 84 lakh on May 3, 43 lakh on May 4, 7 lakh on May 5 and 2.10 lakh on May 6 returned to the sea.

Total 15 forest officials under supervision of Gahirmatha Forest Range Officer Debasish Bhoi and forest officials of Bhadrak Forest Division are in the charge of safety of hatchlings.