Kemp's Ridley Turtles

The smallest of the sea turtles, the Kemp's ridley, Lepidochelys kempi, is also the most endangered. In the past 40 years, the mass nestings or arribadas of this turtle have dropped from tens of thousands of individuals to less than 400 females per year.

Adult Kemp's ridley sea turtles do not exceed 0.8 meters (30 inches) in shell length and range in weight from 36-45 kilograms (80-100 pounds). The broadly oval-shaped shell is usually olive gray, but the young are black.

Known to nest only on a few beaches near Rancho Nuevo, Mexico, the Kemp's ridley has the most limited nesting range of any sea turtle. This concentration of nesting females has made the species very easy for humans to exploit. Great numbers were killed for meat and leather. Hogs and dogs ate huge quantities of eggs. Humans also gathered eggs and shipped them to distant cities. Today, the beaches of Rancho Nuevo are patrolled by Mexican Marines and scientists to protect the remaining ridleys.

Juvenile Kemp's ridleys frequent the waters of the southeast U.S. coast. Until recently, hundreds drowned every year in shrimpers' nets. However, new regulations call for shrimpers to pull turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in their nets, which have since saved the lives of many turtles. In spite of the introduction of TED's, many scientists fear that the Kemp's ridley is doomed to extinction.

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Materials published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and text from the Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary written by John A. Crawford were used to create this page about kemp's ridley turtles.