CHENNAI: The Forest Department has collected 6,504 Olive Ridley turtle eggs from various coastal areas of Kanniyakumari district over the past two months as part of efforts to protect the species during the nesting season, according to a report by Daily Thanthi.
Olive Ridley turtles usually arrive along the district’s coastline between January and March to lay eggs. During this period, forest personnel patrol beaches and collect eggs to prevent them from being damaged by predators or human disturbance.
According to forest officials, the Olive Ridley sea turtle, locally known as 'Panguni aamai', digs pits in the sand and lays around 140 to 170 eggs before returning to the sea.
Once eggs are spotted along the shore, forest department staff carefully collect them and transfer them to protected hatcheries.
Four turtle egg protection centres have been set up along the coast, while three hatcheries are functioning at Lemur Beach and Dwarakapathi. The eggs are placed in these hatcheries, where they are incubated until they hatch.
So far, 1,448 Olive Ridley hatchlings have emerged from the collected eggs and have been safely released into the sea by forest department personnel.
Nesting activity this year has been recorded in coastal areas including Rajakkamangalam, Muttom and Colachel, with forest staff continuing to monitor beaches to protect turtle nests during the season.