Olive Ridley turtles at Punnayoorkkulam

Every year, certain shores of Kerala witness the endangered species of Olive Ridley turtles make their way through the beach to lay their eggs. They arrive at a specific period just after the monsoon season, usually between September – February. Punnayoorkkulam also has stories of these turtles arriving at its shores to lay eggs. The eggs are conserved in a hatchery and taken care of by many nature lovers before safely releasing them into the sea. In 2016, baby sea turtles were released into the sea at Pappali beach in Mannalamkunnu by a Sea Turtle Conservation committee. The eggs were carefully nurtured in the hatchery at the shore before they were let into the sea.

The occurrence was repeated again the next year. In 2017, about 140 baby sea turtles were released into the sea at Mannalamkunnu beach in Punnayoorkkulam under the supervision of the Sea Turtle Conservation committee.

Sea turtles are an endangered species and the numbers of turtles that reach the shores of Kerala have been declining.

Despite their decline in numbers, the Olive Ridley turtles made their visit again to Punnayoorkkulam in January 2021. The turtles reached the shores at Chavakkad beach and made nests from the Chavakkad shore to Punnayoorkkulam shore. The turtles arrived by the end of January. The Green Habitat executive director NJ James had commented that there will be more turtles arriving to lay eggs than last year. He said that the same turtles that hatched on the Chavakkad shore have returned after eight years to the same shore to lay eggs.

It's a wonder how these baby turtles travel for kilometres navigating to the scent of their mother. It is also an amusing fact that each turtle chose to return to the same shore where it had hatched. This has brought about a lot of awareness among people about the endangered species and the need to conserve them. The nature lovers and conservationists at Punnayoorkkulam ardently look forward to their arrival every year.