Species profile

Name: the olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) is the most abundant of all the sea turtles found in the world.

Appearance: olive ridleys get their name from their olive-coloured shells. These distinctive shells are also heart-shaped and rounded.

Size: they are one of the smallest sea turtles, growing to around 60 cm long and weighing around 50 kg.

Diet: olive ridleys are carnivorous, mainly feeding on jellyfish, sea urchins, snails, shrimps, crabs, and worms.

Did you know: this species of turtle is best known for their unique mass nesting events called ‘arribadas’. During the nesting season, females return to the same beach where they hatched to lay their eggs. The turtles begin to nest at the same time which can lead to thousands of females coming together on the same beach to lay their eggs. It has been estimated that 600,000 turtles nested along the coast of Odisha in India in just one week!

Location: olive ridleys can be found in warm and tropical waters, mainly in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, but also in the warmer parts of the Atlantic Ocean.

Where to see olive ridley sea turtles

According to reports submitted to WildSide, you can see olive ridley sea turtles in the following places:

Photo credit: orientalizing under a Create Commons licence from Flickr