Hatchlings belonged to season’s first nest
A forest team releases the Olive Ridley hatchlings at Agonda beach.
CANACONA
Fifty Olive Ridley hatchlings were released from the Agonda Turtle Rehabilitation Centre (hatchery) into the sea in the early hours of Wednesday.
According to South Marine Centre in-charge RFO Rajesh Naik, the hatchlings were from the season’s first nest of 65 eggs protected at the TRC in Agonda.
Forest (Wildlife) officials expect more hatchlings from the remaining 15 eggs still lying inside the nest pit within the next one or two days.
All 50 hatchlings were first collected in a plastic container and later released into the sea. The first batch of eggs was laid when an Olive Ridley turtle visited Agonda shore and laid 65 eggs on the morning of 28 December 2024.
The Forest Department (Wildlife) is presently protecting 85 pits (including the one partially hatched) at Agonda, while the South Marine Centre’s other turtle nesting site at its headquarters in Galgibaga has 22 pits. The 107 pits are presently protecting 10,904 eggs.
