CANACONA: Galgibaga beach has gained world fame as a nesting place for the endangered Olive Ridley turtles, so much that it is now also called “Turtle Beach” as it is a crucial habitat for flippered visitors whose soft sand attracts the endangered creatures to return every year to lay their eggs here.
Also known as “Silent Beach”, the Galgibaga beach in Canacona taluka is a favoured nesting site for the Olive Ridleys.
This year, the number of eggs laid here by the endangered turtles have doubled.
In the past generally,10,000 to 12,000 eggs used to be laid at these two beaches but this year, the number of eggs found are 22,183, disclosed Range Forest Officer Rajesh Naik.
The Forest Department has since 1997 started the ‘turtle conservation programme’ and now has a separate Marine Division with beat office at Galgibaga beach to oversee the work.
Generally, in the months of February to April, female Olive Ridleys come in the night to lay eggs. Each turtle lays 80 to 170 eggs in a pit about 1.5 to 2 feet deep that it digs about 40 to 60 metres away from the shore. After burying the eggs with the excavated soil, the turtle returns to the sea by leaving a special pattern with its flippers on the beach.
“We look out for this special pattern to spot the clutch of eggs and start our search before dawn,” said Naik pointing out that the eggs have to be transferred within 3 to 4 hours after they are laid.
After recording the size, depth and length of the nest, the eggs are counted and transferred to the breeding centre.
“The breeding centre is another similar pit dug nearby and after recording the date
the eggs are buried and protected round the clock,” he said.
He explained that removing the eggs from the original nest, is a delicate operation as one has to be very careful because they are protected by a special secretion from the mother whey they are laid.
“This secretion protects the eggs from fungus and hence while removing the eggs, a little bit of mud around it is also taken to keep the secretion intact,” disclosed Naik.
Olive Ridley, scientifically called Lepidochelys olivacea has a life span of about 50 years, about two feet long. While the male weighs up to 40 kgs, the female weighs around 45 kgs. Earlier, turtle eggs were poached by humans as they were considered a delicacy, but now they have to be protected from canines like dogs and foxes, pointed out Naik.
It is indeed a very pretty sight to see the hatchlings crawling to the sea as they emerge from the eggs after the 45 to 55 day incubation period.
“The hatchling weighs around 15 to 25 grams,” said Naik who is currently overseeing the turtle conservation programme in Canacona.