Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
(Lepidochelys kempii)

Species > Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle

If you are lucky you may encounter this rare and critically endangered sea turtle that inhabits Florida's coastal waters. The smallest of all sea turtles and rarest in the world, the Kemp's ridley can weigh up to 100 pounds and averages 23 to 27 inches in length. With a compressed greenish-gray shell and fin-like flipper feet, this graceful swimmer is often described as adorable or just plain cute!

Kemp's ridley's can be found in the shallow coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico and southern Atlantic where they find their favorite food, crabs. Like all sea turtles, this sea turtle swims to the surface every few minutes to breath. This species mainly inhabits the Gulf of Mexico where almost the entire Kemp's ridley sea turtle population nests along the coast of the state of Tamaulipasan, just south of the U.S./Mexico boarder in an area called Rancho Nuevo. The Kemp's ridley is the only sea turtle to nest during the day! With only about 1,000 breeding females today, this rare species is actively protected by both the United States and Mexico and is successfully making a slow recovery.

 

 

The Kemp's ridley turtle populations have drastically declined since the 1940's due to the effects of man - man harvesting both the eggs and turtles, shrimp trawlers catching them in their nets, boat propellers, fishing entanglements, pollution (ingested plastics), coastal development, red tide, beach activities like cleaning vehicles & drive-on locations, and oil spills. Sharks are also a threat to this turtle as they are their only natural predator.

Identify the Kemp's Rigley Sea Turtle

 

NOAA: The Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
National Parks Service: Kemp's Ridley Turtle
NOAA: Sea Turtle Identification
Tour de Turtles - this is an amazing website that shows maps tracking the journey of turtles after being released