Thousands of sea turtles invade an empty beach in India to nest for the first time in years

Thanks to the isolation that has been produced to avoid more contagions and deaths from the COVID – 19 coronavirus, some animals have taken advantage of walking the streets, swimming where they did not do it before or returning to certain areas.

An example of this is the massive arrival of thousands of sea turtles to empty beaches in India, according to reports from local media and social networks.

This happened in Odisha, a region known for seasonally harboring olive ridley turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea). This species reaches the shoreline along the Bay of Bengal to nest.

However, this spring was the first in seven years that the mass nesting of the species took place at broad daylight.

“The last time we saw a daytime nesting of turtles along this beach was in 2013, but not nearly that many. They generally come to the beach to nest only at night,” said Amlan Nayak, local forestry officer, the Clarion newspaper reports.

Without tourists on the beaches, human interference at the nesting site decreased, local media reported.

Experts and authorities estimate that the turtles laid around 60 million eggs in the sands of these Indian beaches.