Thousands of Olive Ridley sea turtles started to move ashore from India's Bay of Bengal to lay their eggs on Rushikulya Beach, south-west of Bhubaneswar in India's eastern state of Odisha. The beach is one of the three mass nesting sites in the state, followed by the coasts of Mexico and Costa Rica.

Olive Ridley Turtle
An Olive Ridley Turtle arrives to lay her eggs on the sand at Rushikulya Beach, south-west of Bhubaneswar, India Asit Kumar/AFP

Also known as the Pacific Ridley sea turtle, or by its latin name Lepidochelys olivacea, Olive Ridley sea turtles are best known for their behaviour of synchronised nesting in great numbers. Females return to the same beach from where they first hatched, to lay their eggs, despite migrating hundreds, and often thousands of miles each year. On average, the turtles lay 110 eggs in a nest, and average between 2 to 8 nests per season. AFP photographer Asit Kumar's images of the Olive Ridley sea turtles laying their eggs are a fascinating documentation of the turtle nesting season. IBTimes UK presents some of the best images from Kumar's series:

Olive Ridley Turtle
An Olive Ridley Turtle digs a hollow in the sand as she prepares to lay her eggs at Rushikulya Beach Asit Kumar/AFP
Olive Ridley Turtle
Tourists take photographs of an Olive Ridley Turtle as she lays her eggs in a hollow in the sand Asit Kumar/AFP
Olive Ridley Turtle
An Olive Ridley Turtle lays her eggs in the sand Asit Kumar/AFP
Olive Ridley Turtle
An Olive Ridley Turtle lays her eggs in a hollow in the sand Asit Kumar/AFP
Olive Ridley Turtle
Olive Ridley Turtles return to the sea after laying their eggs in the sand Asit Kumar/AFP
Olive Ridley Turtle
Olive Ridley Turtles return to the sea after laying their eggs in the sand Asit Kumar/AFP

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