CHENNAI: Wildlife officials in Chennai have collected more than 52,000 Olive Ridley turtle eggs in the last three months from four locations — Besant Nagar, Injambakkam, Neelankarai and Pulicat. The forest department had set up hatcheries at these locations, where the eggs were safely housed.
The turtle nesting season began during the beginning of this year. Among the four locations, Besant Nagar saw 28,473 eggs being collected, followed by Pulicat (13,085 eggs). Both in Neelankarai and Injambakkam, the department collected nearly 10,850 eggs.
Of the total eggs 12,970 hatchlings were released into the sea till Tuesday. At Besant Nagar, 7,125 turtle hatchlings were released, while. 4,201 hatchlings were let out into the waters at Pulicat. At Injambakkam, 849 hatchlings were released, while 793 hatchlings were released in Neelankarai. officials said the hatchlings are taken out of waters. "This is done to ensure the hatchlings reach their home without getting killed by crows or dogs. The hatchlings are attracted to brightly lit areas, which lives. Taking into account all these issues, they were released into the waters after dark," said Chennai wildlife warden E Prasant.
Turtle conservation groups in the city and wildlife officials are elated, as the number of dead turtles getting washed ashore was less this season. With the increase in the diesel price, many trawlers are not operating. This is one of the factors for less number of turtle deaths in marine waters, said a fisheries department official. Similarly, cases of turtles getting entangled in damaged fishing nets in the sea are also less this time, the official added.
