Kendrapara, April 7: As many as 82,031 Olive Ridley turtles laid eggs on the beach of Gahirmatha marine sanctuary in Rajnagar on the fourt day, Friday.
The mass nesting of Olive Ridleys started on the beach in Kendrapara district of Odisha on Tuesday night.
As many as 3,037 turtles laid eggs on the first day on April 2, while 83,600 laid egg on April 3 and 98,016 on April 4. By April 5, a total of 2,66,684 female Olive Ridley turtles have laid eggs in Nasi - II.
This year, the arribada has been delayed by nearly a month due to untimely rain and rough sea, said divisional forest officer (DFO) of Bhitarkanika National Park Sudarshan Gopinath Yadav.
Nasi - I and Nasi -II, the two small islands stretching over only five km are suitable for nesting of the turtles as there are no predators and human settlements there. Around 30 forest personnel are guarding the beach and sea to protect the turtles and the eggs.
