Unseasonal rain destroys turtle eggs on Kavugoli beach
The untimely rain that lashed the Kavugoli beach, Karasagod, destroyed nearly half of the eggs laid by the Olive Ridley turtles on the shores of the beach this season. Only 311 young ones hatched out of the nearly 600 eggs laid by six mother turtles o n the sandy shores. The lucky ones swam to the safety of the sea after completing their phase of life on the beaches.The beach received unexpected rain during this nesting season and a large number of turtle eggs were decayed in the rain, said M. Rajeev, range officer of the Forest Department, Kasaragod.It's during the October-March season that the turtles come to the shore for laying eggs. Usually, 90 per cent of the eggs of the turtle hatch. Inclement weather is suspected to be the reason for the unusually high rate of mortality this season. There has also been a gap in the arrival of mother turtles to the beach for laying eggs.
The Hindu, 23rd January 2009
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