RAMANATHAPURAM: As the nesting season is under way, over 1,000 turtle eggs were found laid along the Dhanushkodi beach. Officers from the forest department have collected the eggs to secure them for hatching.
Turtles live in large numbers in the sea off Dhanushkodi. Including green turtle and loggerhead turtle, five varieties of the species inhabit the area. December to April is the nesting season observed around Rameswaram.
Turtles pick the sands, dig pits, lay eggs and cover them back in the routine. They return to sea once they lay the eggs.
For the past two days, forest department staff have been engaged in intensive monitoring to check whether turtles have laid eggs along the Dhanushkodi beach near Rameswaram. On spotting turtle tracks, they collected about 1,100 turtle eggs at more than 10 locations.
The collected eggs were taken to the turtle hatchery at MR Chathiram beach and were safely buried and covered for hatching, where pits were dug in the sandy area exposed to sunlight.
A forest official said that hatchlings will emerge naturally two months after the eggs are laid, and they will be released back into the sea. The official noted that about 15,000 eggs were collected and more than 10,000 turtle hatchlings were released into the Dhanushkodi sea in 2025.
With three more months remaining in the nesting season this year, more turtles are expected to visit the beach to lay eggs. Also, fishermen who venture from the Dhanushkodi beach at night and in the early morning, and return to shore should inform the forest department if they notice turtle tracks. If turtles are spotted, they should be left undisturbed, the official said.