Olive ridley turtle
Lepidochelys olivacea
One of the smallest and most widespread sea turtles. Olive ridleys can wander the open ocean for years, yet at a few beaches thousands nest together in arribadas.
Vulnerable (IUCN, 2008) means it is at high risk of extinction in the wild.
Photos show the species, not always the places on this page.
Length
Shell usually about 0.61 to 0.76 m (2 to 2.5 ft) long
Weight
Often about 35 to 45 kg (77 to 99 lb)
Next to a person
Much smaller than a green turtle; the shell is about the length of an adult's lower leg
What it eats
A mixed diet of algae, crabs and other crustaceans, tunicates, molluscs, fish and jellyfish. It can dive to about 150 m (500 ft) to find food on the sea floor.
Around people
Calm, give space
How it lives
The olive ridley is a small sea turtle with a mixed diet of crabs, jellyfish, fish and algae. Many females nest alone, but the species is famous for arribadas, when huge numbers come ashore together at a few beaches, such as Ostional. Its shell often has six or more plates along each side.
Where it goes
Olive ridleys do not follow one fixed road. In Costa Rica, 43 satellite tracks showed females wandering the open sea, with their core areas within about 400 km of the coast from Panama to Mexico. Turtles tagged on the beaches of Odisha, India, have later been found in Sri Lanka and the Gulf of Mannar.
Populations
A few beaches have arribadas. At Ostional, Costa Rica, one arribada had between 3,564 and 476,550 nesting females in 2006 to 2010. At Escobilla, Oaxaca, Mexico, about 101,500 females nested in one arribada on 16 September 2026. At Rushikulya, Odisha, India, the Forest Department counted about 698,000 turtles in February 2025. Isla Cañas in Panama is smaller, with about 4,133 turtles in November 2022.
Meet it respectfully
At arribada and other managed nesting beaches, go only with an authorised local guide. Use no flash and no white light. Never touch a turtle or a hatchling, never block her way, watch from behind her, not in front, and keep off the nests. Do not buy turtle eggs.
Fun fact
Tap the bulb to light it up.
Olive ridleys nest in two ways: alone, or together in mass arrivals called arribadas.
Arribada dates depend on the turtles and cannot be predicted far in advance.
Adults and young turtles also use coastal bays and estuaries, not only the open ocean.
The olive ridley is one of the smallest sea turtles, yet it can dive to about 150 m (500 feet) to find food on the sea floor.
Olive ridleys are true ocean wanderers. Ships crossing the Pacific have seen them more than 3,800 km (2,400 miles) from shore.
At Ostional, Costa Rica, a single arribada brought up to 476,550 nesting females in the years 2006 to 2010.
Source: Valverde et al., 2012, Olive ridley mass nesting ecology and egg harvest at Ostional
A female tagged at Gahirmatha, Odisha, in March 2021 was found nesting on India's west coast in January 2025, about 3,600 km away by sea.
Source: ThePrint (PTI), 2025, Olive ridley tagged in Odisha lays eggs in Maharashtra
In Odisha, fishing is banned for seven months each season, from November to May, within 20 km of the three main nesting river mouths.
Source: ICSF, 2024, Odisha seven-month fishing ban at three river mouths
Follow its journey
Choose a journey and watch it travel. Every line comes from satellite tracking or documented research, and the source is named.
StartEndJourney (the line joins documented areas; real paths vary)
Olive ridley turtle in the Ocean Atlas
Places we have researched where this animal is recorded. It is never guaranteed, and some places are for watching from the boat only.
Travel with usComing soonTrusted referralExploringOn pause, story onlyEthics pass
Country colour: pink where we travel, blue where we are exploring or refer, grey for story only.
Angola
Australia
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Benin
Brazil
Chile
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Colombia
Costa Rica
Ecuador
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
France
Gambia
Guatemala
Honduras
India
Indonesia
Malaysia
Maldives
Marshall Islands
Mexico
Myanmar
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Oman
Pakistan
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Peru
Philippines
Seychelles
Somalia
Sri Lanka
Timor-Leste
United States
VietnamSources for this page
- NOAA Fisheries, 2026
- IUCN Red List
- Valverde et al., 2012, Olive ridley mass nesting ecology and egg harvest at Ostional
- Figgener, Bernardo and Plotkin, 2022, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
- SWOT Report, Olive ridleys: the quirky turtles that conquered the world
- Pandav and Choudhury, 2006, Migration and movement of olive ridleys along the east coast of India
- Mexico News Daily, Sept 2026, citing Conanp, Playa Escobilla arribada
- The Wire, 2025, citing Odisha Forest Department, Rushikulya mass nesting
- Panamá América, Nov 2022, Arribada at Isla Cañas
Facts checked 26 September 2026. Photos: Unsplash licence, or Creative Commons as shown on each photo.
Work in ocean travel?
We are always happy to hear from exceptional local operators, accommodation, conservation organisations and destination experts. If your work fits responsible, small-group ocean travel, we would love to learn more.
Partner with Ocean CallingNot sure where to go? Get your Ocean Match
from CHF 19