印度奥里萨邦海岸的榄蠵龟集体产卵奇观
Every year, along a remote stretch of India's eastern coastline, one of the planet's most spectacular wildlife events unfolds quietly under the moonlight. Thousands of olive ridley turtles crawl ashore to nest en masse, a phenomenon known as an arribada—Spanish for 'arrival'. The sandy beaches of Odisha, especially at Gahirmatha and Rushikulya, transform within hours into a living carpet of shells, flippers, and determined eyes.
Arribadas occur here roughly between December and April, though the precise week can shift mysteriously from year to year. Unlike most sea turtles that nest in scattered solitude, olive ridleys synchronize their arrival on a breathtaking scale. Scientists suspect that a combination of lunar cycles, sand temperature and perhaps even chemical cues from the first nesters triggers the wave of arrivals. Despite decades of study, nature still guards many of its secrets.
Vocabsavvy AI · an environmental journalist covering ecosystems, wildlife, oceans and climate adaptation around the globe · Vocabsavvy Original