Tens of thousands of Olive Ridley Sea Turtles wading up the sand to transform the beach of Rushikulya (Odisha) into the cradle of life – it’s one of the rarest natural phenomena that I have been fortunate enough to witness. I accompanied International Fund for Animal Welfare and Wildlife Trust of India’s ERN (Emergency Relief Network) team of volunteers back in 2018 to assess the on-ground count of the turtles and begin beach cleanup drives.  Last year exactly this time, the eggs the female turtles leave back, cracked open. It was the time when millions of baby turtle hatchlings toddled right back into the waves and disappeared until they ready to spawn themselves. But the journey isn’t as happy as it sounds.

A female Olive Ridley Sea Turtle making its way back to the sea at Rushikulya Coast, Odisha |Madhumay Mallik

Every year, adult Olive Ridley Sea Turtles from as far as the Pacific, conglomerate along the Bay of Bengal. It’s the only time in their lives, spanning about 50 years that they come this close to the land. For the state of Odisha, this covers three recognized mass nesting sites, namely Gahirmatha, Rushikulya and Pir Jahania. Female turtles wade into the beach; sometimes more than 500 meters, to choose a favorable place in the sand, dig up a meter deep hole and lay up to 90 eggs at a time. Crawling through the shifting sand, it’s excruciating task but that’s the responsibility of motherhood.

Things would have been favorable if it wasn’t for us who seem to believe to own the coast. The arribadda (mass nesting) season, around the month of March every year, also coincides with the peak season for fishermen. Consequently, hundreds of boats (trawlers mostly) will be laying death nets all along the sea, lifting not only valuable fish catch but dead turtles in the thousands. Traditional methods of fishing don’t seem to do much harm but commercialization necessitates that bigger vessels go in with larger mechanized nets for the exploits. Most turtles die of suffocation after getting stuck in the nets. The carcasses, flung back into the sea, wash ashore to sadden the most gorgeous of landscapes.

The mother turtles that somehow make it to the coast have to deal with a fast shrinking coastline and irresponsible human activities. Tourists have even been seen to sit on pregnant turtles to pose for selfies. Every year, the supposedly beautiful process of giving birth to new life turns into a graveyard activity.

Turtle hatchlings entangled in discarded webbings along the coast | Madhumay Mallik

Across the year, the beach is taken over by the fishermen community and tourists. We litter, we throw away entangled pieces of fishing nets and all kinds of garbage that are the by-products of our amusement and unregulated livelihood. When the baby turtles emerge, they get caught in these traps to suffocate and die. Even a small piece of webbing is enough to be a weapon of murder. Added to this are tourists who excitingly trample over hatchlings to crush their soft shell. The freshly hatched turtles need to make it to the sea before the sand gets warm from the rising sun. Light pollution from the nearby villages is another kind of death trap. Some hatchlings forget their way trying to get close to the lights, away from the sea and by the time it’s sunrise, they are already stuck with little hope of return.

With the first light, also come the crows, eagles, gulls and the mongrels – hurriedly swooping in and snatching off the beach. The hatchlings that don’t make it in time far outnumber the ones that do. It’s a numbers game that has been designed by nature but she didn’t count the role we humans would be playing.

Olive Ridley mating in high seas | Rudra Mahapatra

Thankfully, the forest department has been putting in its best efforts to save as many of the hatchlings as it can. IFAW-WTI’s ERN members have been teaming up with the forest department every year to assist in the rescue. It’s truly a race against the sun and the numbers that need attention are too many to fathom. Wherever the eyes go, there would be a baby turtle in distress – swinging its flippers and trying to get to the sea.  The team hurriedly detangles the hatchlings by the buckets but the disappointment of not being able to do enough was killing. There’s right in front of you that you see a life passing away – a life that hasn’t yet seen a day.

If we are going to save turtles, we need to be more proactive about the problems that we have created. From ensuring that the trawler fishing is controlled in the high seas during the arribadda season to engaging tourists and local fishermen in a more responsible outlook towards their surroundings, the task is indeed daunting. There’s so much to be done but examples like the Versova Beach in Mumbai do give us a ray of hope. Anyone traveling to the beaches of Odisha to see this rare wildlife phenomenon, needs to understand that there are enough problems in the way of the turtles already. The only way to be a useful audience is to ensure that the beach be kept as it should be. Trash has been one of the major tools of destruction. Further, while the excitement to see baby turtles in the thousands is understandable, we should also bear in mind that the newly born are highly sensitive and need to be left alone unless in distress. In recent years, IFAW-WTI has also been deploying its volunteers during the nesting season to educate visitors about how they can contribute but this is something that needs more mass awareness. The Ridleys have been coming to these coasts since a very long time and we need to give them their rightful space.

About the Author: An avid blogger, a travel enthusiast and a photographer, Madhumay Mallik has been associated with WTI since 2013 and currently works as Field Officer, Campaigns in the Central India Wild Buffalo Recovery Project.