CANACONA: Forest officials released 70 Olive Ridley hatchlings in the shallow waters of the Arabian Sea at Galgibaga beach which is one of the two beaches earmarked as turtle nesting sites in Canacona, late Friday evening.
The healthy looking hatchlings were released in the presence of DCF wildlife and eco tourism division South Goa Anisha Kalkoor, RFO Vikramaditya Naikgaonkar and a large crowd of curious marine life enthusiasts.
The Galgibaga beach had witnessed the first Olive Ridley nest on first of January from which the forest officials had meticulously retrieved 116 eggs and kept in a fenced enclosure on the beach above.
Range Forest Officer Vikramaditya Naikgaonkar told Herald that out of 116 eggs 70 hatched and more hatchlings are expected during coming days, and this is the first batch to be released this season.
“Normally average clutch size Olive Ridley lays over 110 eggs which require 52 to 58 days of incubation period. 70 eggs hatched from the first nest on Friday and we carefully released them in the waters on Friday night itself,” Naikgaonkar said.
Many locals as well as foreigners rushed to witness the rare site.
Manoj Prabugaonkar, a Mashem resident and a marine life enthusiast, said that this is the first batch of baby turtles to be released into the sea; all the hatchlings were looking healthy when released.
Meanwhile, another 56 Olive Ridley hatchlings crawled out of the nest at Agonda on Saturday evening and will be released in the sea in the night informed Naikgaonkar.
“It’s nice to see the local residents as well as forest department giving the required importance to the marine vulnerable species which needs human assistance to survive on this planet,” Prabugaonkar said.
Till now Canacona has witnessed 10 nesting of Olive Ridleys which includes three at Galgibaga and seven at Agonda.
