Olive ridley sea turtles return to the beach on which they hatched to lay their eggs, some travelling over hundreds of miles to return to the same spot.
Amazing Facts About the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
- The olive ridley turtle is born with grey skin and a grey heart shaped shell (carapace) which turns an olive green once they reach adulthood. This is how they are given their name.
- They inhabit warmer oceans such as the Pacific, South Atlantic and Indian ocean.
- These sea turtles prefer to live in the ocean but females return to the beach they once hatched on to lay their eggs.
- A female can lay over a hundred eggs three times a year on tropical/sub-tropical beaches.
- The sex of an Olive Ridley can be affected by the temperature at which the eggs are incubated. Temperatures above 30 degrees C (86 degrees Farenheit) produce more females and temperatures around 27 degrees C (81 degrees Farenheit) produce a mixture of sexes.
- Many young turtles do not make it to the water before they hatch due to predation from crabs, pigs, racoons and birds.
- Their diet mainly consists of jellyfish, crustaceans and snails.
- Olive Ridley Turtles are endangered because of overfishing, boat injuries, eggs being stolen, climate change and being hunted for their meat.