Team Herald
PERNEM: An Olive Ridley turtle went back into the sea without laying eggs on Friday afternoon after it was disturbed by visitors at Ashvem-Mandrem beach.
To safeguard and propagate sea turtles, the Forest department has been running a turtle preservation program at Morjim since 1999. Prior to this incident, two Ridleys had laid eggs at Ashwem and one at Morjim. The one which visited Ashwem at around 2 pm on Friday was digging a pit to lay eggs which is when the tourists and some of the locals disturbed its process. This led to the turtle making its way straight back into the sea without laying the eggs.
This is a major setback for the program as the number of Ridleys visiting Goan shores has already dwindled in the last few years.