70,000 Endangered Sea Turtles Lay Eggs on Empty Beaches During Quarantine

This period of lockdown came with lots of pleasant surprises when it comes to its effect on animals and the environment. In many places around the world, animals are taking back the cities and wandering on the street and nature can breathe more easily since traffic has stopped.

This week’s good news is related to Olive Ridley sea turtles as 70,000 of them have been spotted storming a beach in India, named the Odisha Rookery, to lay there eggs there.
This is a well-known event happening once a year and witnessed by thousands of tourists, but because of the lockdown, this year the beach was empty. And since human intervention poses no threats this year upon the hatcheries, the authorities can relax a bit and focus on other matters.

Last year, a large part of the hatcheries has been destroyed by Cyclone Title and the Olive Ridley turtles did not reproduce at expected levels.
The hatcheries are usually protected with the help of fishermen and volunteers, so it is a collective effort to keep the eggs safe.
The Indian government has also taken protective measures to prevent commercial fishermen from entering the area.

A single Olive Ridley can lay 100 eggs before heading back out to sea.
Once fully grown, an Olive Ridley can reach up to 2 feet in size.

via: ReturnToNow