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Sea turtles nest on the U.S. West Coast for the first recorded time
Two olive ridley turtles unexpectedly laid eggs on Southern California beaches—something scientists had never documented anywhere on the U.S. West Coast.
Two olive ridley sea turtles nested on beaches near Seal Beach and Huntington Beach in Southern California. NOAA says these are the first recorded natural sea-turtle nests on the U.S. West Coast.
Why this is wild
Olive ridleys normally nest much farther south in places such as Mexico and Central America. Scientists confirmed the two sightings involved different turtles.
Then it got weirder
Because hurricane-driven waves threatened the nests, wildlife teams moved more than 200 eggs to the Aquarium of the Pacific to incubate them safely before any hatchlings are returned to their original beaches.