NPS photo

As adults, Kemp's ridley sea turtles have shells about two feet across and reach about one hundred pounds in weight.

Five of the world's seven sea turtle species are found in the Gulf of Mexico: leatherback, hawksbill, green, loggerhead and Kemp's ridley. Nests from all five species have been documented at Padre Island National Seashore, either historically or recently. These magnificent marine animals, once abundant in the oceans, have declined during the last century. Human development on turtle nesting beaches, harvesting of the eggs, slaughtering for food and consumer products, and incidental capturing by the fishing industry are to blame for dwindling turtle populations. Each of the five sea turtle species of the Gulf is now classified as either threatened or endangered and could become extinct unless steps are taken to protect and enhance its populations. The division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery at Padre Island National Seashore conducts an active science, conservation and public education on behalf of all five sea turtle species that occur at the park. This work is local, statewide, national, and international in scope, in partnership with numerous entities. This work receives extensive community support and media coverage.    

Kemp's Ridley

The Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) is the most endangered species of sea turtle. Its principal nesting area is a 16-mile stretch of beach at Playa de Rancho Nuevo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, where approximately 40,000 Kemp's ridleys nested in a single day in 1947. Today fewer than 5,000 nest in a year.

International Efforts to Save

To help save the Kemp's ridley, agencies from the United States Federal Government, the state of Texas, and the Republic of Mexico have joined forces in an attempt to re-establish a nesting beach at Padre Island National Seashore, where sporadic Kemp's ridley nesting had already been detected. The program is designed around the theory that mature sea turtles return to the beach where they hatched to lay their own eggs. Biologists are not yet certain exactly how the turtles recognize a particular beach again. Perhaps they become familiar with the chemical composition of the sand or the seawater, or maybe they know the position of the stars, or the sun. It could even have something to do with the earth's magnetic field, or through other means yet to be discovered.

Padre Island Research

From 1978 to 1988, a total of 22,507 eggs were collected at Rancho Nuevo and placed in Styrofoam boxes containing Padre Island sand. The eggs were then transported to a laboratory at Padre Island National Seashore and incubated. After hatching, the young turtles were released on the beach and allowed to crawl to the surf, hopefully leaving them with a lasting impression of the beach. Following a short swim in the Gulf of Mexico, the baby turtles were recaptured and transported to the National Marine Fisheries Service Laboratory in Galveston, Texas. The turtles were raised for one year in Galveston, growing large enough to avoid most predators and also to be tagged for future recognition. A numbered metal tag was attached to one front flipper of each eight-inch sea turtle. Beginning in 1982, the turtles were also marked with "living tags" -- small plugs of their lighter bottom shell implanted into their darker upper shell. Finally, the one year old turtles were released permanently into the Gulf of Mexico.

Detection and Protection

In cooperation with several partners, the park conducts an extensive program to detect nesting by Kemp's ridleys and other sea turtles. From April through mid-July staff and volunteers, up to 140 per year, patrol North Padre Island repeatedly each day searching for daytime nesting ridleys and their eggs, so that they can be protected from various natural and human-related threats. Most nests found on North Padre Island and northward on the Texas coast are removed from the beach for protected incubation and the hatchlings are released.

Recent Happenings

Nearly 60% of nestings by Kemp's ridley in the United States occur on Padre Island, making it the most important Kemp’s ridley nesting beach in the U.S. (Shaver, 2005). In 1996, two Kemp's ridley sea turtles with living tags came ashore and laid eggs at Padre Island National Seashore. These were the first recorded returnees from the 1978-1988 project to re-establish a nesting colony here. One of the turtles had been hatched in 1983 and the other in 1986. During nearly every year since 1996, other turtles from this project have been found nesting, but most of the turtles nesting in Texas today are from the wild stock. In 2007, 128 Kemp's ridley nests were located in Texas, including 73 at Padre Island National Seashore. Nesting is more than doubling every 1-3 years and increases in nesting are expected to continue.

How Can You Help?

Be observant. If you see any tracks, or if you see a live or dead sea turtle on the beach, immediately contact a Park Ranger or call the Park Sea Turtle Biologist at 361-949-8173,extension 226. However, do not detain nesting turtles or hatchlings, and do not force any turtles back into the water. Taking or having in your possession any part of these threatened or endangered turtles is a felony, with fines ranging up to $20,000. If you find a nesting female, protect her from passing traffic. Do not approach her until she has already begun laying her eggs or is covering her nest. If possible, photograph or video tape her. Examine her top shell for a living tag and note the location. Look at her front flippers to find a metal tag and record the number, but do not remove the tag. Place a distinguishable marking in the sand about one foot to the side of the nest. Also, protect any sea turtle tracks you find. Place a noticeable object next to the tracks and note their exact location. Be sure to notice how far the tracks extend up the beach.

If you see hatchlings emerging from a previously undetected nest and crawling towards the water, protect them from passing traffic and predators, count them, photograph or videotape them, and allow them to enter the water. Place a distinctive object next to the place in the sand that they emerged from. Any information reported to park rangers will help to save these docile creatures.