Odisha - Witnesses The Spectacle

Every year, lakhs of olive ridley turtles come to two beaches in Odisha to nest. A young student of wildlife witnesses the spectacle

- Sutirtha Lahiri

A hot gust of wind caresses the mangrove forests along the creek. It is the middle of February, and 20 of us have set out from the village of Gupti in Kendrapara district in eastern Odisha. I scan the mudflats in the light of the afternoon sun and find white-throated and brown-winged kingfishers brooding on trees before diving into the water; or whimbrels and Eurasian curlews being startled by our boat. The saltwater crocodiles, however, coolly bask in the shade of the mangroves. Just as I begin to get to know my neighbours better, the boat approaches the jetty. We have reached Habalikhati.

This tiny coastal village gets its name from the thespesia tree—called habali in Odiya—commonly found in mangroves. As students of Wildlife Institute of India (WII), my batch mates and I are here because Habalikhati is an entry point to the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary, believed to be the world’s largest nesting ground for the smallest species of sea turtles—the olive ridleys. Spread over 1,435 square kilometres, the protected area comprises mangroves and other vegetation of the Mahanadi delta. Every year, usually between October and April, over seven lakh female turtles nest at Gahirmatha beach. This phenomenon of mass nesting, called arribada (Spanish for ‘arrival’) occurs only in India, Mexico and Costa Rica. The coast of Odisha is the only arribada site in the country, though olive ridleys nest on other Indian beaches as well.