HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.—A reptile believed to be struggling in sand at a Southern California beach was simply making history: a sea turtle laying eggs on the U.S. West Coast.
And three days later, there were more. An olive ridley turtle—maybe the same one—laid eggs on Sept. 19, a few miles away near the Huntington Beach Pier in Orange County, authorities said.
“This is the first-ever recorded natural nesting for any sea turtle species” on the West Coast, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s West Coast Fisheries division said on Facebook.
Olive ridley turtles are the smallest of sea turtles, with adults weighing up to 100 pounds. NOAA said they’re found worldwide but primarily in the tropical waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans….