Around 1.48 crore of baby turtles of Olive Ridley species hatched at a beach in Odisha. The rare occurrence, the birth of the baby turtles without mother, was witnessed at the Gahirmatha Beach in the Kendrapara district, officials told PTI.

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Bikash Ranjan Dash, the Divisional Forest Officer of Bhitarkanika Mangrove informed PTI that, “A total of 1.48 crore of baby turtle have broken out of eggshells to mingle in the Gahirmatha seawater till Thursday, making the grand culmination of the annual sojourn of Olive Ridley  sea turtles to this unmanned Gahirmatha Island.”

He further added, “The birth of the turtle began on April 25 and the annual event has now reached its fag end.

Social media is flooded with videos and pictures of baby turtles hatching from their eggshell. Varouls people took to social media and shared the video of  baby turtles.

Dash said that the babies have emerged from 2.98 lakh nests dug at the Nasi-ii-Island, by the female turtle, which is close to the defence installation at the Wheeler’s Island. To protect the safety of the newborn, round the clock virgil is alo being maintained, dash added.

Gahirmatha beach is one of the largest nesting grounds for endangered species and this year has witnessed 3.49 lakhs of female turtles coming up for mass nesting, a phenomenon called ‘arribaba’.

Dash said that the baby turtles loiters on the beach after emerging from the nest. Each female turtle lays around 100 to 200 eggs and the hatching takes place after 45 or 50 days of the incubation period.