What to KnowMore than 200 eggs were found on Orange County beaches in the first documented natural sea turtle nests on the U.S. West Coast. The nests were found in the sand in Seal Beach and Huntington Beach, hundreds of miles north of the nearest known nesting beaches. The eggs were relocated to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach because of possible beach hazards related to Hurricane Polo over the next few days. Researchers said they are studying possible correlations that might have led the olive ridley sea turtle to Orange County shores, including El Nino, prey, currents and a rare navigation mistake.<\/p>\n
More than 200 eggs<\/a> from the first documented natural sea turtle nests<\/a> on the U.S. West Coast were moved Friday from two Orange County beaches to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach due to concerns over Hurricane Polo.<\/p>\n The storm churning off Mexico’s coast was not expected to directly impact Southern California, but will likely contribute to powerful surf and beach hazards. The two olive ridley sea turtle nests in the sand in Seal Beach and Huntington Beach were moved to the aquarium due to hazardous conditions, authorities said Friday morning. <\/p>\n “Due to hazardous surf conditions expected to coincide with this weekend’s high tides, there is an elevated concern that the nests will be washed away,” the Aquarium said in a news release. “Collectively, we made the challenging decision to carefully move the olive ridley sea turtle eggs from the wild to the Aquarium of the Pacific.”<\/p>\n Biologists carefully removed the eggs one-by-one from the nests around 6 a.m. Friday and placed them in containers that were transported in a van to the Aquarium, where they will incubated in a temperature-controlled environment. If viable, they are likely to hatch in 45 to 60 days, the Aquarium said, adding that updates will be provided during incubation.<\/p>\n The eggs caused a stir earlier this month when video showed the first-ever natural nesting on record of a sea turtle on the West Coast. The olive ridley sea turtle<\/a> was seen in video recorded by the Huntington Beach<\/a> Fire Department on Sept. 16 digging a nest and laying eggs near Seal Beach, NOAA Fisheries West Coast said in a social media post<\/a>.<\/p>\n Three days later, a sea turtle was seen on a beach a few miles south. The agency said it is not clear whether it was the same turtle seen in Seal Beach.<\/p>\n Both areas were fenced off and beach visitors were asked to stay away from the area. Sea turtles are protected under the Endangered Species Act.<\/p>\n Why all the egg-citement?<\/p>\n Jeff Seminoff, the NOAA Marine Turtle Ecology and Assessment Program Lead, said Friday that the discovery of the nests marked a landmark moment in his decades-long career.<\/p>\n “In all this time, I think this is one of my career highlights,” Seminoff said. “To have animals nest in our own backyard is just an incredible thing.”<\/p>\n The olive ridley is the smallest sea turtle species. They usually grow to weight 100 pounds and are about 2.5 to 3 feet long. A typical lifespan is 30 to 50 years. <\/p>\n They are found around the world, but usually in the tropical waters of he Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans. Nesting areas can be found in Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. The olive ridley’s clutch size can range anywhere from 70 to 140 eggs in a nesting period.<\/p>\n “While occasionally seen in Southern California following warm currents, this species has never been documented to nest in the United States,” according to NOAA.<\/p>\n Seminoff said there is a long list of possible reasons why the sea turtle ended up nesting where and when it did. <\/p>\n