As Sangani Veera Venkat walks along the shores of his village, narrating some of his experiences in the last three years as a turtle camp watcher, the 25-year-old exudes a youthful drive and resourcefulness. His compassion for his cohabitants on the planet is evident as he speaks of the need to protect birds with the same vociferousness with which he speaks of turtle conservation. I grew up in a small village called Gachakayalapora, adjoining a lagoon, near Surasaniyanam. I was raised in an environment surrounded by trees, birds and reptiles. My time outside of school was spent in climbing trees, watching large colourful birds, and playing with snakes. Having observed nature so closely since my childhood, I developed a sense of empathy for the creatures of the wild. But at the same time, I was also scared of the nature’s power and its wrath. I was only five years old when the cyclone hit in 1996. Despite being a child at the time, I distinctly remember the large-scale destruction in our village. All the houses were affected as we mostly had kutcha houses made of mud and thatched with dry leaves. The cyclone razed it all to the ground. We had nothing left but the clothes that we stood in. After this incident, the government helped us build pucca houses. But I will never forget the might of nature that I witnessed back then. It taught me a lesson in humility, one which I will always remember.
Three years ago, when officials from the Forest Department and the project approached us locals and told us about the various challenges that the Olive Ridley turtles were facing for survival, it reminded me of our own helplessness during the cyclone. We were told that the eggs of these turtles are taken by jackals, feral dogs and other predators, and often poached by the local community too who rob them for consumption. Shortly thereafter, I volunteered to be a turtle base camp watcher. Around 60 of us have been trained in the scientific way of turtle conservation. For the last three years now, I have been protecting an area of around 10 km of shoreline in my village. As I am also being paid for my work by the Forest Department, I have been able to dedicate my full time and effort towards this. Before the project intervened, there were no special conservation steps taken for protecting turtles. The turtles would come to lay eggs, of course, but almost all the eggs were eaten by jackals or poached by the local communities. Of the 70–100 eggs that one turtle would lay, only four would survive or the hatchlings reach the sea successfully. Even the female turtles that came to the shore to lay eggs were under threat, as some villagers used to hunt them for turtle meat. People would come here with jute sacks and take these turtles away to be sold. But, thankfully, there’s increased awareness among the local communities now, ever since the project engaged locals like us to take up turtle conservation activities. People watch us and they understand that it’s illegal to poach the turtles. Some villagers have even volunteered to help me and at times, when I’m out patrolling, they help carry the sticks, nets, buckets and things that I need for protecting the turtle nests. Still, we do occasionally come across a case or two of poaching. A few months ago, when I was out on my regular patrol, I spotted a man with a jute sack slung over his shoulder. I noticed some movement in the jute bag and immediately sensed that something was off about this. I confronted him and found out that he had turtles in the sack and he was planning to illegally take them away. I instantly took out my camera and recorded photos and videos of the incident and informed the authorities. Forest officers rushed to the scene and managed to rescue the turtles. This was one incident which made me feel happy, because I could save the turtles. As turtle camp watchers, our job is to ensure that the maximum numbers of eggs hatch and the hatchlings safely reach the sea. To ensure the best results, we follow two methods of turtle egg protection, depending on the circumstances. One, we make a protective cage of sorts around the nesting site. To do this, we are provided with nets, sticks and iron mesh to guard the eggs. But in some
10 | Voices of the Sea