Have you ever seen a sea turtle dance? A Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle nesting at North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras National Seashore showed off its dance moves last month as it buried its eggs with sand. It’s a critically endangered turtle with a very unique method of nest building, making this a truly rare sight to see.
In fact, Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles are the smallest and most endangered of all the sea turtle species. They nest during the day, unlike other sea turtle species. They don’t often nest at Cape Hatteras, and a Facebook post by the National Seashore suggests this is the first Kemp’s Ridley nest ever recorded at this particular location.
But why was it dancing?
“Here’s where it gets shell-arious,” Cape Hatteras National Seashore wrote in its post. “Kemp’s ridleys have a unique way of covering their eggs. While most sea turtles simply push sand over their nests with their flippers, Kemp’s ridleys take it to the next level. They not only use their flippers but also perform a little side-to-side shuffle on top of the nest. We call it the ‘Kemp’s ridley dance’! Looks like these turtles know how to put their best flipper forward!”
Watch the sea turtle shuffle here:
This critically endangered species faces threats such as bottom trawling and other fishing practices that unintentionally capture, injure, or kill Kemp’s Ridley turtles.
Did you know that Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles did this little nesting dance?