Olive ridley sea turtle lays eggs on Southern California beach for first time

An olive ridley sea turtle has laid eggs on a beach in Southern California for the first time in recorded history, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The rare nesting event took place near Seal Beach in Orange County on September 16 and has been described by NOAA as the first-ever recorded natural nesting by any sea turtle species on the US West Coast.According to NOAA Fisheries West Coast, an olive ridley sea turtle was observed digging a nest and laying eggs on the beach near Seal Beach on September 16.The agency said the event is significant because olive ridley turtles, while occasionally seen in Southern California after following warm ocean currents, have never previously been documented nesting in the United States.Three days later, another sea turtle was spotted on the shoreline a few miles south, near the Huntington Beach Pier.