Webcast Of Turtles’ Mass Nesting

BERHAMPUR: You can watch the Olive Ridley turtles mass nesting on the sandy shores near the Rushikulya river mouth in Ganjam district at home without going having to go the site, which is about 50 km from here. 

The wildlife wing of the forest department is webcasting the unique phenomenon, which started on Thursday. Just log on to www.wildlife.org to watch the natural phenomenon. 

"We have decided to webcast the mass nesting of the Olive Ridley turtles at Rushikulya rookery to allow wildlife lovers to witness the unique phenomenon without having to visit the site. The facility has also helped forest officials minimize the crowd that gathers on the spot during the nesting period," said chief wildlife warden S S Srivastav. 

"The mass nesting of the turtles was recorded as they Olive Ridleys laid eggs, usually in the early morning. Then it was uploaded on the website for the webcast," said divisional forest officer, Berhampur, S S Mishra. At least two IT professionals and a wildlife scientist were engaged for the purpose, he added. 

"The live webcast was not done from the rookery as it might have caused disturbance and posed a hurdle to the turtles because of the light," said another officer. 

Earlier, the DFO Berhampur had submitted a proposal to the government for live telecast of the mass nesting of the turtles from the site. But the Rs 40-lakh project was yet to be implemented 

Mass nesting of the Olive Ridley turtles, an endangered species, continued for the second day on Friday. One the second day, more than 59,000 turtles laid eggs while 10,000 turtles laid eggs on the first day at the river Rushikulya rookery. Wildlife experts expect that the mass nesting might continue for a few more days as the beach and weather conditions were conducive to the natural phenomenon. 

The forest officials have taken several measures to protect the eggs and the turtles. The entire 4.5-km long stretch of beach has been divided into 33 sectors. The area has been totally fenced to prevent visitors from disturbing the turtles. 

Around 175 persons, including forest personnel, wildlife activists and people from nearby villages were engaged for round-the-clock vigil to protect the Olive Ridley turtles and the eggs.

Shared By: Hotels in Bhubaneswar