Kendrapara (Odisha): The unique natural phenomenon - hatching of baby turtles sans their mothers - has begun at the idyllic beach of Kalam Island off Odisha coast in Kendrapara district, forest officials said. Like every year, the phenomenon has left the wildlife lovers awestruck and elated, they said.

In the past 72 hours, millions of turtle hatchlings, have emerged from the eggs, which were buried in the sand, and crawled towards the sea, the Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife) Forest Division, Prasanna Kumar Acharya, said.