Watching Nature’s Wonder of the World – an unforgettable awesome experience

The area where the turtles come to hatch - Eastern India

Fishing boats on Chilka lake 

PITCH black night. Couldn't see a thing!

It’s a pitch black night as we are in the no moon phase – we can’t see a step ahead of us except for the occasional quick burst from our guide’s torch. Yet, we are walking along a beach at 11.30 pm in Rushikulya, Ganjam district, Orissa to see for ourselves what I consider Nature’s unique natural out-of-this-world phenomenon each year. 

                                               Since 2003, The Vasant Sheth Memorial Foundation of Mumbai supports an NGO promoting community conservation of the Olive Ridley turtles at Rushikulya. Run by a dedicated 18 years experienced expert, Rabi Sahu has revolutionized the mindset of the local people towards this species. As a Trustee, I went to see the work being done by Sahu and his volunteers. I came back humbled and awed at Nature’s unique creativity

Sahu giving a talk to school children. Very dedicated guy.

Can you imagine a minute living creature, just 20 gms at birth, which never ever sees its father or mother? It emerges from an egg laid along with 100 to 150 other eggs in a single 18 inches deep nest, scrabbling, clawing and climbing over each other..

An amazing sight as they pour out of the nest

Then like a lemming, with thousands others, it single mindedly is focused on only one thing – survival - to avoid the various death traps in its path and to reach the sea where it will possibly survive. When mature, like salmons, sea turtles will return to the same place where they were born to nest and lay their eggs. 

torchlight attracts them.

Then back to the sea. The cycle repeats itself every few years. It was that time of the year when millions of mass hatchings take place and that’s why we were here to see this awesome phenomenon.

We had driven over one km on mud track, across fields, to reach Gokharkuda. In the SUV’s headlights, I saw Kevda trees on both sides. We finally stopped in a village and Rabi asked permission from forest rangers to see the hatchings. Generally this is not allowed but due to our support of the breed, we were permitted to proceed within limits. We crossed a narrow bridge (designed to stop cars) and then across a yet narrower gully lined with cement bags which are used as stepping stones when water floods the gully. Our walking path soon became a sand track.

See the baby in relation to my palm !

We walked for ½ km along the beach and then I saw my first baby turtle scuttling along towards the river. Then further up, we saw hundreds - I picked one up – it was miniscule – size of 2 – 3” diameter, half my palm size. Its eyes were open. We counted eight nests in a ten foot circle area. We saw over 50 to 70 babies in just two nests. Saw the opening of one nest actually being created by a single emerging baby, followed a few minutes later by a few more, all scrabbling over each other. Then, amazingly, whilst still recovering from that sight, the light reflected off a pair of translucent eyes in the path of the turtles and the water – it turned out to be a red crab hiding right under the sand waiting for its next meal.

One of the crabs waiting to eat newborns

Crabs generally create a nest right next to turtle nests and pull emerging babies into it. Its pincers are very powerful and babies are helpless. The crabs very fast and vicious. We saw many such crabs and when they felt our feet on the sand, they scuttled away.

The most fascinating feature of Olive Ridley is their mass nesting habit called ‘arribada’ meaning mass arrival in Spanish. Ridleys choose narrow beaches near estuaries and bays to lay eggs –both the beaches we went to were exactly that. Each adult female lays approximately 100-150 eggs at a time. It is believed that they nest in an interval of one-four years. The mating takes place in December – January about eight kms away on the high seas and apparently if one is on a boat, you can actually touch a mating pair. Then in February – March, the mother comes ashore to lay its eggs. The conservation groups have now learned the importance of saving the babies and have a 0% poaching level in Rushikuliya district. The eggs develop over 7 – 10 weeks and it’s only in late April that they hatch. It had rained four days earlier so the sand had smoothened and with the subsequent day’s heat, it became hard packed so the cycle got delayed by few days – good for us as we were right there during the birthing period.

One needs to be very careful when walking the beach – the nests are higher up the shore line and when walking, you realize you may be over a nest when the sand seems to crumble underfoot. Hence wearing sandals is obligatory and avoiding the beach at birthing is now mandatory so that the babies don’t get trampled. Yet even then, whilst there, we saw the Governor, the Collector and various other Forest officials along with retinue, without which a Government official feels neglected, going to the beach. One hopes that they followed the same rules they laid down for us lesser mortals. 

Local fisherman rescuing baby hatchlings from the nets

 A tedious slow process

I had wondered why we had to go at night to see the babies when surely this was a 24 hour process! Actually the babies hatch at night and due to their ability to see “a brighter horizon”, they go to the sea. Unfortunately, these days, that horizon could be the lights of an industrial zone rather than the natural luminescence over water. We found many trapped in the fishing nets kept rolled up on the beach at Podampetta. This beach is really beautiful – over 3 kms of pristine white sand, crystal clear waters and no tourists. But for the hatchlings, whilst emerging, they got trapped on the nets kept near the fishing boats on the beach.                                                        

So, we freed many of them and put them near the water but sure enough, found them back tracking as they were being attracted to our torch light which was needed to cut them free! 

Rushikuliya is the third largest rookery for nesting in India. It’s heartening to see the local fisher folk supporting the efforts of the Wildlife Institute of India & local NGO’s and co-existing with the turtles. The community based approach to save them needs to be followed at other such sites too. Meanwhile Nature’s unique cycle of mass hatchings has just finished this year.

A village procession nearby.

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