‘Punarjani’, a novel project conceived by the Social
Forestry wing of the Department of Forests and Wildlife, Kollam, in association
with Travancore Nature History Society (TNHS), a Trivandrum-based N.G.O working
in the field of nature conservation, was launched on January 23 at Chillakkal
beach, Paravur near Kollam. The project envisages to protect Olive Ridley
turtles, a reptile that has been placed in the Red Data Book of International
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Olive Ridley turtles have been laying
eggs on the shores of Chillakkal and Pozhikkara beaches in Kollam coast,
notably because these are the only two gaps without a seawall erected as a
measure against sea erosion. These turtles freely crawl to the shore in the
safety of the nightfall in these places, dig pits in the sand some of which as
large as to hold up to 100 of its eggs. In course of three weeks when the eggs
hatch, hatchlings are led back to the sea by themselves as if by a rare force
of intuition. Parental care is sparsely observed in these variety of turtles.
