New nesting sites for crocodiles in Gahirmatha Wildlife Sanctuary

New nesting sites for crocodiles hasve been found in the Gahirmatha Wildlife Sanctuary. The number this year is 80 compared to last year's 75. These are near the Satabhaya beach. The numbers could be still more because the enumerators could not reach inaccessible regions like creeks and wetlands. The female of the species become violent when they see intruders.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 30 June 2017.

Bhitarkanika is home to 1,682 crocodiles and some of them are albino species. The enumerators were able to confirm sighting 1,671 that live along the water bodies of the sanctuary. Researchers were excited with the discovery of new nesting sites. The crocodile conservation program at Bhitarkanika had begun in 1975. Wildlife workers were ensuring that predators like snakes, jackals and dogs did not devour eggs of crocodiles.


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Coast Guard arrests fishermen for illegal fishing in the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary

Coast Guard personnel have arrested 139 fishermen and have seized 14 seagoing vessels which were engaged in for illegal fishing in the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary. Sea fishing is prohibited within the marine sanctuary limits throughout the year.
However, patrolling is increased between November and May because of the mass nesting season of the endangered olive ridley turtles. These turtles enjoy Schedule-1 status under the Wildlife Protection Act. They get entangled in the nets of trawls and vessels for prolonged periods and die of asphyxiation. Moreover, the fast-moving propellers of fishing trawlers strike the turtles and kill them in large numbers.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 30 January 2017.

The arrested fishermen belong to Balaramgadi, Dhamara (in Balasore) and Talchua (in Kendrapara). The Coast Guard also recovered many items of fishing like mono-filament fishing nets, GPS systems, disaster alert transmitters, walkie-talkie communication systems, fish finding gadgets, registration documents of the vessels, identity proof documents of the crews and a haul of three tons of sea fish.
However, none of the vessels had turtle excluder devices installed. These are specialized device through which the trapped sea turtles can escape when caught in fishing nets.


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Endangered olive ridley sea turtles arrive at Gahiramatha marine sanctuary

Endangered olive ridley sea turtles have started to arrive at Gahiramatha marine sanctuary - it is their annual mating season. The Gahirmatha beach is believed be the world's largest-known nesting ground of these animals.
Apart from Gahirmatha, they turn up at Rushikulya river mouth and Devi river mouth for mass nesting.
This has been reported in telegrahindia.com dated 9 December 2016.

Turtle surveying teams have spotted hundreds of mating pairs along the Gahirmatha coast. There is a fishing prohibition in place in Gahirmatha zone to ensure disturbance-free mating of the animals. After the end of the mating season, most of the males will return leaving behind the female turtles to lay their eggs.
The females usually come to the nesting beaches in the dead of the night to lay eggs after which they also return to the sea.
Hatchlings emerge from these eggs after 45-60 days.


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Arrival of olive ridley turtles in Gahirmatha affected by erosion of nesting beaches

The arrival of olive ridley turtles in Gahirmatha has taken a beating due to erosion of nesting beaches. These beaches are widely perceived as the world's largest known rookery for this breed of turtles and the erosion has affected the annual mass nesting of the endangered species.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 27 March 2016.

The turtles have arrived en-masse as usual at the nesting grounds on the unmanned Nasi-2 island but, their numbers are considerably less than last year. As per statistics, since the commencement of mass-nesting on March 16, around 51,748 female turtles have laid eggs on the beach.
Moreover, the day-to-day sequence of the turtles' emergence is also not encouraging because, at its peak on March 19, around 28,445 turtles dug pits to lay eggs and, subsequently, the figure dropped drastically and not a single turtle had turned up for mass nesting in the past three days.
It is understood that nearly 4.13 lakh turtles had turned up at the beach for mass nesting last year and, this year, it has been a low-key affair. The female turtles usually reach the nesting beaches in the dead of night to lay eggs and, after laying the eggs, they leave the nesting ground and return to the sea. Hatchlings emerge from these eggs after 45-60 days.
Olive ridley turtles are in a unique breed by themselves because it is a rare natural phenomenon where the babies grow up without their mothers.


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