Olive Ridley turtles may have sensed the disaster

When the Olive Ridley Turtles did not return to the Rushikulya beach in Odisha for mass nesting earlier this year, it had baffled many marine experts. On Thursday and Friday, the mystery seemed to unravel as many thought it could be because the marine reptiles had sensed a devastating weather phenomenon. The turtles laid less than 3,000 nests this year as against earlier numbers of 5 lakh.

Parveen Kaswan, an IFS officer, wrote on Twitter, "In an interesting fact Olive #Ridley #turtles this year skipped their annual phenomenon of mass nesting at Rushikulya beach, Odisha. May be not all species require weather forecasting department to sense #cyclone Fani on time. Many species are known for their sense of disaster."

Another user with handle @pkj_star wrote, "Who said humans are most intelligent living being.."

The coastline of Odisha is believed to be the largest mass nesting site for the endangered species, followed by the beaches of Mexico and Costa Rica. Researchers attribute climate change to the behaviour of the turtles.