Scientific name: Lepidochelys olivacea
Conservation status: Threatened (Vulnerable)
Clutch size: Mean size 116
Mass: 25-46 kg
Length: 60-70 cm
More about Olive Ridley Sea Turtles:
One of the smaller sea turtles, olive ridleys have one of the more fascinating nesting behaviors of any reptile. They can weigh up to about 100 lbs and can reach around 2 feet long.
These turtles nest in huge groups (as many as 100,000), coming ashore day and night for several days in an event known as an arribada (Spanish for ‘arrival’). Arribadas take place on just a few beaches around the world including Costa Rica, Mexico, and India.
Olive ridleys are the most common sea turtle in the world with likely more than a million adults. They are most known for their nesting behavior (known as an arribada) where tens of thousands of turtles come ashore at a time over a few days to lay their eggs. Only a few beaches in the world are home to the arribada and how the process works is not well-known.
Olive Ridley Facts & Tidbits
Distribution
Olive ridleys inhabit primarily tropical oceans around the world, found in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. The arribada beaches are in Costa Rica (Ostional and Nancite), Mexico (Escobilla), Nicaragua (La Flor), and India (Gahirmatha).
Status
IUCN Status: Vulnerable / Population Trend: Decreasing
Their primary threats are coastal development, consumption of their eggs, and entanglement in fishing gear.
Learn more about olive ridley sea turtles on the SEE Turtles website.