500,000 Olive Ridley Sea Turtles

From the Turtle Conservancy’s October Newsletter:

Eric Goode along with writer Glenn O’Brien and Kortnie Coles traveled to the Pacific coast of Mexico to witness a natural phenomenon called an arribada (the Spanish word for “arrival”). During a 3 week period, over 500,000 Olive Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) nest on a 3 km stretch of Escobilla Beach in Oaxaca. This nesting event peaks during the month of September. Only three species of turtles exhibit this behavior: Giant South American River Turtles (Podocnemis expansa), Kemp’s Ridley Turtles (Lepidochelys kempii), and Olive Ridley Turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea). The Escobilla Beach Olive Ridley arribada in Oaxaca is by far the largest.