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Young World
On the turtle trail
SUBASH JEYAN
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The Chennai sea coast is a breeding ground for the endangered Olive Ridley turtles. Student volunteers go in search of their nests at night, retrieve the eggs and take them to a hatchery. What happened during the turtle walk one moonless night...
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Hatchings making for the sea...
At 9.30 in the night, there are signs all around the city of winding up for the day. We, my friend Sanjay and I, are at Elliot's beach, Chennai, from where, we were told, the turtle walks begin every day. We are informed that being a week day, only two volunteers from the Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN) go for the walk and that the public are taken along only on Fridays and Saturdays. Perhaps we can convince them to take us along?
The turtle walks. They are organised by the SSTCN to increase the chances of survival of the Olive Ridley sea turtle (so called because of the olive colour of its shell; Latin name Lepidochelys olivacea). These turtles live in the tropical regions of the Pacific, Indian and the South Atlantic Oceans. They are an endangered species. The adult turtles are killed for their skin and the meat. But that is not the main cause for their decreasing numbers.
During nesting season, which lasts roughly from January till April, these turtles come ashore in large numbers, lay eggs in nests and go back to the sea and don't ever come back to look after the nest or the eggs. Adult turtles return to the shore where they were born, for nesting. The coast along Chennai is a minor breeding ground ; the Bhitarknika Wildlife Sanctuary in Orissa is the world's largest Olive Ridley nesting ground.a
When the eggs hatch after 55 days, the hatchlings make for the sea by instinct because at night under normal conditions, the sea is a brighter source of light than the land. The young are on their own from the minute they are born and even under natural circumstances only one in a thousand survives into adulthood.
But now with big cities coming up along the shore, the land is brighter than the sea at night. And the hatchlings start moving inland, where their chances of survival become almost nil. This has been the main cause for their declining numbers and the SSTCN organises walks during the nesting season to collect the eggs from the nests and put them in a hatchery so that when the hatchlings come out, they can be safely released into the sea.
It is almost 10.45 p.m when Vinayak Raj and Sampath, the two SSTCN volunteers, turn up. We introduce ourselves and they are willing to take us along and we start walking. The previous seven days had been particularly bad, says Vinayak. The volunteers hadn't found a single nest. Last year, they found more than a 100. This year, they had uncovered 18 so far. And the success rate at their hatchery, he says, is around 85 per cent.
It is a moonless night and experienced walkers that they are, Vinayak and Sampath soon settle down into a steady rhythm. As we trudge along, Vinayak suddenly stops and flashes his light on something which had only looked like a dark smear to us. Turtle. We crowd around, only to find that it is dead. Probably killed by a trawler, says Sampath.
Precious and fragile...turtle eggs from a nest on the Chennai coast.
We go on and soon, near a fishing village, we come across tracks going into the beach that could be the telltale flipper marks of the turtle. Could also be the marks a catamaran leaves when it is dragged into the sea, says Sampath. But, about 15 feet down the shore, we come across a similar set of tracks and now Sampath is alert. Somewhere around where the two tracks meet, says Vinayak, would be the nest. We start looking. Vinayak and Sampath are out with their probes and soon enough find the nest. Located at a depth of about 60 cm and 40 m from the sea.
It is in the shape of a mud pot — a narrow neck and a wider chamber below. Vinayak takes the eggs out and puts them in a cloth bag, 129 in all. He measures the dimensions of the nest. That done, they cover up the nest and the tracks and start walking. We come across no more nests till we reach Neelangarai Vinayak patiently digs up a nest that is more or less the same in dimensions as the original nest and carefully puts all the eggs inside. Not a single broken egg.
Day's work done, we settle down to sleep on the beach till morning when we can catch a bus back. Surrounded by 19 nests out of which will emerge little turtles which have been given a safe passage to life itself. Perhaps some of them will come back 30 or 40 years down the line for nesting. Perhaps not. But they won't be lacking for friends here if they do.
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Student venture
Prior to 1987, turtle walks were conducted by an NGO called Prakriti along with government organisations. When they decided to stop the activity in 1987, four students of the Madras Christian College decided to continue the work and formed the SSTCN. For details about the turtle walks, contact Sanjeev Gopal, SSTCN, Tel: 044-441 1937,E- mail: sanju7778@yahoo.com.
Preparing yourself
It would be better if you are wearing walking/running shoes or anything else you might feel comfortable in. It could also be cold and while you may not feel it while walking, you will after the walk. So take something warm with you. And, after walking in the sand for kilometres on end, believe me, you'll be thirsty. So remember to take a large bottle of drinking water. Most of all, be prepared to enjoy yourself.
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