The second phase of mass nesting at the Rushikulya rookery began on Saturday, March 22, with a total of 1,30,031 turtles laying eggs within three days, officials confirmed. (Image: Reuters)

Despite the rain, the turtles continued their nesting activity along a five-kilometer stretch of beach between Purunabandh and Bateswar, the PTI cited officials. (Image: Reuters)

Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Diba Shankar Behera stated that on Monday, March 24, alone, 41,731 turtles laid eggs near the river mouth. (Image: Reuters)

“In the past three days, we have identified approximately 48 tagged female turtles returning to the Rushikulya rookery for this second phase of mass nesting,” PTI quoted Anil Mohapatra, a senior scientist and officer-in-charge of the Estuarine Biology Research Center (EBRC) at the ZSI Regional Center in Gopalpur. “We anticipate that this number may rise by the end of the mass nesting period,” he added. (Image: Reuters)

During the first phase of mass nesting, which took place between February 16 and 23, authorities recorded sightings of 382 turtles with metallic tags. A record-breaking 6,98,718 Olive Ridley turtles had nested along the beach during that initial phase. (Image: Reuters)

Mohapatra stated that approximately 12,000 turtles were tagged at the Rushikulya rookery and the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary during the 2021-23 period. “We have collected photographic evidence of turtles with metallic tags and plan to conduct a detailed study on these tags once the mass nesting is complete,” he said. In 2023, over 100 tagged turtles were observed at the Rushikulya river mouth, he added. (Image: Shutterstock)

Another senior scientist from ZSI, Basudev Tripathy, emphasised the importance of continuing the tagging program for several more years to gain further insights into the movement patterns and behavioral aspects of the Olive Ridley turtles. (Image: Shutterstock)