A Sea Turtle Nested on a California Beach, a West Coast First
Lifeguards on night patrol saw an olive ridley sea turtle dig into the sand and lay eggs near Seal Beach in Southern California on Sept. 16, and a second turtle nest, possibly from the same animal, appeared Sept. 19 near the Huntington Beach Pier in Orange County.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's West Coast Fisheries division said in a Facebook post that "this is the first-ever recorded natural nesting for any sea turtle species" on the West Coast.
The Associated Press reported on both nests under its own Huntington Beach dateline. Trevor McDonald, marine safety chief at the Huntington Beach Fire Department, explained that the lifeguards who found the first turtle initially thought that "maybe this turtle is sick. We just don't see this very often." They then watched it start to lay eggs.
The nests have drawn visitors to the beach. George Zamora, one of them, noted that he hoped the eggs would survive tides, storms and popular beach events.
According to NOAA, olive ridleys are the smallest of the sea turtles, with adults weighing up to 100 pounds. They live worldwide, primarily in the tropical waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. Both nest sites have since been fenced off, and the agency said incubation typically lasts 45 to 60 days.
