Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle

COMMON NAME: Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lepidochelys kempii

TYPE: Reptiles

DIET: Omnivore

AVERAGE LIFE SPAN IN THE WILD: 50 years

SIZE: 2 feet

WEIGHT: 100 pounds

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

Threats to Survival

Their perilous situation is attributed primarily to the over-harvesting of their eggs during the last century. And though their nesting grounds are protected and many commercial fishing fleets now use turtle excluder devices in their nets, these turtles have not been able to rebound.

Diet

They prefer shallow waters, where they dive to the bottom to feed on crabs, which are their favorite food, and other shellfish. They also eat jellyfish, and occasionally munch on seaweed and sargassum. They may live to be 50 years old.

Reproduction

Females aren’t sexually mature until about ten to twelve years of age. They nest every one to three years and may lay several clutches of eggs each season. Highly migratory animals, they often travel hundreds of miles to reach their nesting beach, usually the same beach they hatched from.

Information sourced by National geographic.