World's Rarest Species Of Sea Turtles Lays Eggs On Texas Beach

For the first time ever, the world's rarest species of sea turtles have laid eggs on one Texas beach.

My San Antonio reported that biologists discovered the eggs on June 13th at Magnolia Beach. Dr. Pamela Plotkin, director of Texas Sea Grant and sea turtle biologist, said in a news release:

"This has never happened in modern times. Sea turtles typically nest on barrier island beaches in Texas and so seeing a turtle nest on a beach inside any bay is rare. There are many miles of unpopulated bay shoreline along Texas' coast, so it is possible that sea turtle nesting on these shores is more frequent and undetected."

According to the news release, the turtles were identified as Kemp's ridley sea turtles, which are the smallest and most endangered sea turtles in the world. Experts estimated that about 40 to 50 hatchlings made it to the water from the nest.

The turtles were found by maintenance workers with the Calhoun County Precinct 1 Commissioner's Office. Zach Padron and Jason Gonzalez spotted the hatching turtles and noticed they were headed the wrong way. The workers notified Calhoun County Marine Extension Agent RJ Shelly, who began excavating the turtle nests. The turtles were within 10 feet of a roadway, making monitoring necessary.