A passerby alerted California State Parks officials to the nest, prompting the agency to contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees the protection of sea turtles on land.
A third olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) nest has been discovered along the Southern California coast. This marks the third documented nesting event on the West Coast as warmer ocean temperatures bring these turtles farther north than previously documented.
A passerby alerted California State Parks officials to the nest, prompting the agency to contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees the protection of sea turtles on land, according to the Los Angeles Times. Officials have since cordoned off the nesting area, located between the shoreline and the beach’s boardwalk, to protect the eggs.
Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Eggs Laid On SoCal Beaches Moved Ahead Of Hurricane Polo
NOAA Fisheries West Coast announced September 22 that an olive ridley sea turtle was observed September 16 digging a nest and laying her eggs on a beach in Surfside, CA. This marks the first-ever recorded sea turtle nesting event of any species on the West Coast of the United States. And three days later, according to NOAA, an unidentified sea turtle was observed a few miles south laying her eggs in Huntington Beach, near that city’s world famous pier
The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service announced September 25 that it has moved more than 200 olive ridley sea turtle eggs that were laid in two nests in Seal Beach and Huntington Beach, California. The USFWS cited the incoming high tides and potential dangerous surf conditions resulting from Hurricane Polo, which was churning off the Baja Peninsula was a Category 5 Hurricane with sustained winds of about 180 mph (285 km/h).
Unlike the Orange County nests, the Ventura eggs are not currently scheduled for relocation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service generally favors minimally intrusive conservation measures, the agency told the Times. Officials plan to monitor and protect the nest throughout incubation and are asking beachgoers to keep their distance.
Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Lays Eggs On Southern California Beach
The nesting activity coincides with an extreme marine heat wave and a strong El Niño, which have raised Southern California ocean temperatures closer to those typically found in the turtles’ tropical nesting range.
Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Information
The olive ridley turtle is the smallest of the sea turtles, reaching about 100 lbs and about 2.5 to 3 feet in length. They live up to 50 years and are found worldwide, but primarily are found in the tropical waters of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans. The Pacific populations primarily nest in Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. This is the first occurrence of an olive ridley, or any sea turtle nesting on a Southern California beach.
