Veraval Town Junagadh District News Samachar Saurashtra Gujarat India

100 baby turtles saved near Veraval Town.

A resident of Adri village near Veraval in Junagadh district showed both awareness on wildlife protection and a sense of responsibility by saving the lives of 100 baby turtles.

The endangered green sea turtles reportedly strayed into the jungle from their nests instead of into the sea. "Around 100 turtles came out of five nests and started walking towards the jungle. When an Ahir youth spotted this unusual phenomenon, he alerted us," said forester Nanji Kothiwal.

He, along with other officials, picked up the turtles in buckets and released them into the sea. "Our intervention was essential as the turtles had apparently lost their sense of direction and were heading towards the jungle where they could have easily fallen prey to foxes or jackals," Kothiwal explained.

According to forest department officials, 30 nests were found on the Gujarat coast on the outskirts of Adri where the turtles had come to lay eggs.

The green sea turtles known as Chelonia Mydas in zoological parlance come in hoards to lay eggs on Saurashtra and Kutch coasts. After laying 100 to 150 eggs on the beaches, they go back into the sea. The eggs take 20 days to hatch, after which the babies instinctively find their way into the sea. What happened at Adri seems to be an aberration.