A particular breeding behaviour
This species does not appear to migrate across open oceans but juveniles move up and down the east coast of the USA between feeding and nesting grounds.
Life CycleOnce the hatchlings exit their nest and reach the sea, a swimming frenzy ensues to reach open ocean zones where currents meet, and the small turtles find food and refuge from the many predators. After several years far away from land, most marine turtle species approach the coast again as juveniles.
The young turtles develop specialised feeding habits that vary between species. Juvenile turtles migrating between feeding areas can move thousands of kilometres. Only once marine turtles become adults, after decades, do they return to the beach area where they were born to lay their own eggs.
The long time to reach maturity and the many natural dangers faced by hatchlings and juveniles mean that as few as 1 in 1000 eggs will survive to adulthood. Kemp's ridley is a migrant that swims along the U.S. and Mexican coasts, nearshore in continental shelf waters.
Adult females migrate hundreds or even thousands of kilometers between feeding habitats, mating areas and their preferred nesting beach in Rancho Nuevo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Adult males appear to be nonmigratory, and stay mainly in coastal waters around Rancho Nuevo. After nesting the first time, marine turtles may return to the same nesting beach to lay eggs every couple of years for over two decades.
Breeding
Having reached sexual maturity at around 12 years of age, the nesting takes place during daylight along a single stretch of coastline in the Gulf of Mexico. Like olive ridleys, this species nests in arribadas -'mass arrival' in Spanish.
Kemp's ridleys are thought to nest every two years, with approximately 3 clutches of about 90 eggs in one season. Incubation lasts about 45 days, and the nesting season extends from March to August, with a peak in May and early June.
Characteristically, ridleys camouflage their nests by rocking from side to side after covering the nest, in order to compact the sand and disguise the nest.
Diet
Kemp's ridleys are carnivores, although the feeding behaviour of the hatchlings and juveniles is very poorly understood. Adults eat crabs, shrimp, clams, and sea urchins. Juveniles eat small species of crabs, but prefer larger species as they mature.