Goemkarponn desk
CANACONA: The new Turtle Nesting season have commenced on a slower path but a bit early at the Goa’s one of the busiest tourism beach and the highest ever hosted 67 Turtle Pits amongst the four Turtle Rehabilitation Centers in the State of Goa at Agonda during the last season in Canacona taluka.
Infact, in the seasons (2023-24) first Turtle Nest is protected by the Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, Agonda since 16th of last month (November) and the only Pit so far taken care by Forest engaged staff team has about 150 turtle eggs.
According to Forest (Wildlife) sources, a mother turtle visited the southern side of the Agonda’s 2.9 Kilometres long beach as early as 6.00 am of Thursday (16-11-2023) and Forest engaged personnel on early morning rounds soon after excavated the eggs from the Pit digged by the flappers before returning to the Sea. 150 eggs were thus transferred/ shifted to the hatchery and laid inside the artificially prepared Pit as Pit no.1 at Turtle Rehabilitation Centre. The same pit is now protected till it is hatched after 55-58 days.
The Turtle nesting seasons actually commences in September-October and extends upto April-May months of the year.
It may be noted that a record 92 Pits were protected and nursed at both Agonda and Galgibaga Turtle Rehabilitation Centre’s in Canacona with Agonda alone accounting for a record of 67 Pits for the last Turtle Nesting Season.
Out of the 9995 eggs protected in 92 pits , a total of 8673 Olive Ridley Babies were released from the two Turtle nurseries in Canacona.
Incidentally, inplace of erection of a Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, Forest (Wildlife) department has instead erected a small four poles shade at the Nursing Site while a larger shade is set up some hundreds of meters away on the beach shore in Agonda.
Galgibaga, which is the main Rehabilitation Centre for Turtles in Canacona and the Headquarters of Marine Range (South Goa) is yet to be visited by Mother turtle on the taluka’s second Turtle Nursery in Canacona.
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