Baby Turtles Make Their Way to the Sea (VIDEO)

Every year in November and December, 120 beaches of Oaxaca come alive. The Pacific beaches of this southwestern Mexican state appear to move as millions of baby turtles take their first steps out of their nests.

The turtles that make these beaches their nesting grounds are called Olive Ridley sea turtles. According to National Geographic, they are the smallest of the sea turtles at only two feet in shell length and up to 100 pounds. These turtles can live to be 50 years old.

Olive Ridley sea turtles have been listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List since 1986. Although exact numbers are not known, monitoring of sexual maturity and nest sizes help to estimate the declining population. What is known is that these turtles on average take 13 years to reach sexual maturity and will lay two to three nests a season with about 105 eggs per nests.

It sounds like they lay a lot of eggs but don’t let that deceive you as other factors influence their population. In addition to the turtles’ slow sexual maturity, other human factors have contributed to their declining population such as targeted exploitation, including egg harvest, bycatch from commercial fishing, habitat lost due to coastal development and even disease.

However, with some protections and every new generation born, the population will hopefully recover. Now, enjoy watching these adorable baby turtles as they take their first steps across the beach and into the sea. Climbing over each other in excitement, they answer the call of the ocean, with hopes of returning to the same beach someday to lay the eggs of the next generation.