Image: screengrab from YouTube/MyEscambia
A nest of the endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle was spotted by beachgoers in Florida last Tuesday, June 2.
A female sea turtle crawled ashore to lay its eggs on the sand in Escambia County, ABC-affiliate WEAR-TV reported yesterday, June 3.
The county said the Kemp’s ridley turtle was the third turtle to nest on its beaches this season. Earlier this week, two Loggerhead sea turtles nests were also discovered in the area.
According to National Geographic, Kemp’s ridley sea turtle is “the world’s most endangered sea turtle.” This problem has been attributed to the over-harvesting of its eggs throughout the last century. The turtle usually grows up to 2 feet and weighs 45.36 kilos (100 pounds). It also has an average life span of 50 years.
“She dug a hole about 1.5 to 2 feet deep and when she got down in the hole she laid about 50 [to] 100 eggs,” sea turtle volunteer Brenda Sexton was quoted as saying. “She used her flippers to cover the eggs with sand so you can’t see them and then she headed back to the water.”
The county also caught the turtle on tape, as seen on its YouTube channel yesterday, June 3.
The report cited that the turtle might come back.
“Some of them come back up two or three times laying eggs and then they are exhausted and they go back home for two or three years,” Sexton added. “It’s kinda cool.” Cha Lino/JB
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