Goemkarponn desk
CANACONA – From a mere 4 Nestings in last season, The Turtle Rehabilitation Centre at Galgibaga presently has 11 pits protecting the Olive Ridley eggs so far this season.
On the other side, Turtle Nursery at Agonda Turtle Rehabilitation Centre has attracted 27 mother Olive Ridley’s against the last year’s total arrival of 35 nestings.
Incidentally, while one set of turtle eggs has been shifted from a beach Coast in Salcette, another set has been shifted from Rajbhag-Tarir to Galgibaga Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, taking the overall total to eleven (11) Pits.
While a few days ago, Galgibaga Turtle Nesting Site released around 112 hatchlings (olive Ridley Babies) from its first lot of 117 eggs protected in the Pit since 3rd January.
At Agonda centre, while the first set of 88 hatchlings from the first protected Pit (consisting of 118 eggs) since 31st December ’21, as many 586 more hatchlings have been released into the Arabian Sea from 5 other pits protected at Agonda.
According to Range Forest Officer Anant Velip, both the Turtle Reserved Beaches of Canacona protect as many as 3824 olive Ridley eggs in 38 Nests protected by the Forest Department (Wildlife).
According to forest sources, services of a certain number of local residents are hired to protect and take care of turtle Nests manually prepared at the respective Turtle Rehabilitation Centres. The forest engaged local manpower besides protecting the Olive Ridley Turtle Eggs secured in the Pits from Poachers, Dogs and other animals 24 x 7 daily, also has to regularly take around across the length and breadth of the beach coasts, including the smaller beach-coves in the coastal Village boundaries searching for turtle Eggs and require to relocate the same in manually dugged-up Pits near the Nursery set-up across the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre.