Olive ridley sea turtles got its name from the green color of its heart-shaped shell. They are one of the smallest sea turtles globally; primarily found in the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans.
They are also considered the most abundant sea turtles in the world, with an estimated 800,000 nesting females every year. However, their numbers have gradually decreased over the years from 10 million olive ridley sea turtles in the Pacific Ocean.
That is because olive ridley sea turtles are also one of the most exploited sea turtles in the world. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List, around 30% to 50% of their global population rate was reduced as the years passed.
There are two species of olive ridley sea turtles: the arribada nesting and the Kemp's ridley. Arribada nesting is where many females gather offshore and nest all to once, while Kemp's ridley sea turtles nest en masse.
A record number of olive ridley sea turtle hatched in Mexico
According to a BBC report, a record number of endangered sea turtles hatched on the shore in Northern Mexico. Experts believed that this might be the positive effect of reduced human activity in the area during lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
About 2,250 baby olive ridley sea turtles were released by the indigenous Seri community in Sonora state into the Gulf of California. The Seri community usually releases only around 500 sea turtle hatchlings every year, making this year's record the highest so far.
Thanks to the limitations set on fishing and tourism, the sea turtles successfully hatched to full-term as their beach nests were not disturned.
It is good news since the olive ridley sea turtles were under threat globally. They lay their eggs on Mexican shores between May and September. The turtle species is considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild despite their abundance.
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Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
Olive ridley sea turtles are the smallest species of sea turtles globally, weighing only up to 100 pounds and raches only about two feet in she'll length. These species are solitary as they prefer the open ocean, according to National Geographic.
They migrate for hundreds to thousands of miles every year and only come together as a group once a year for the arribada, the time when females return to the beaches to ally eggs on the shore and nest.
Olive ridleys have nests all over the tropical and subtropical areas of the world. They lay about 100 eggs and could nest up to three times a year.
Their diet consists of jellyfish, snails, crabs, and shrimp, and sometimes algae and seaweed. Unfortunately, many hatchlings do not reach the ocean as they are preyed on by raccoons, crabs, pigs, snakes, and birds. While sharks often take the adult olive ridleys.
Moreover, these species are often exploited, particularly in the western Atlantic, in which their population has declined dramatically. Governments from different countries have implemented rules on protecting olive ridleys, but their eggs are still taken, and females are slaughtered for their meat. There is also the problem of nets in the ocean that snag and drown these turtles.
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