The generic name, Lepidochelys, is derived from the Greek words lepidos, meaning scale, and chelys, which translates to turtle.

[9][10] Lepidochelys is the only genus of sea turtles containing more than one extant species: L. olivacea and the closely related L. kempii (Kemp's ridley).

L. olivacea is unique in that it can have variable and asymmetrical lateral scute counts, ranging from five to nine plates on each side, with six to eight being most commonly observed.

The bridge and hingeless plastron of an adult vary from greenish white in younger individuals to a creamy yellow in older specimens (maximum age is up to 50 years).

[11] The olive ridley turtle has a circumtropical distribution, living in tropical and warm waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans from India, Arabia, Japan, and Micronesia south to southern Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

A female was found alive on an Irish Sea beach on the Isle of Anglesey, Wales, in November 2016, giving this species its northernmost appearance.

Migratory movements have been studied less intensely in olive ridleys than other species of marine turtles, but they are believed to use the coastal waters of over 80 countries.

[4] In the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea near Honavar in Karnataka , the majority of Olive Ridleys nest in two or three large assemblies near Gahirmatha in Odisha.

Solitary nesting also occurs in Lothian Island Wildlife Sanctuary in West Bengal & along the Coromandel Coast and Sri Lanka, but in scattered locations.

[20] Some of the olive ridley's foraging grounds near Southern California are contaminated due to sewage, agricultural runoff, pesticides, solvents, and industrial discharges.

Research from Costa Rica revealed the number of copulating pairs observed near the beach could not be responsible for the fertilization of the tens of thousands of gravid females, so a significant amount of mating is believed to have occurred elsewhere at other times of the year.

[7] The Gahirmatha Beach in Kendrapara district of Odisha (India), which is now a part of the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary, is the largest breeding ground for these turtles.

The spectacular site of mass congregation of olive ridley sea turtles for mating and nesting enthralls both the scientists and the nature lovers throughout the world.

Olive ridley sea turtles migrate in huge numbers from the beginning of November, every year, for mating and nesting along the coast of Orissa.

The olive ridley sea turtle has been listed on Schedule – I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (amended 1991).

[11] Hatching success can vary by beach and year, due to changing environmental conditions and rates of nest predation.

[7] Known predators of olive ridley eggs include raccoons, coyotes, feral dogs and pigs, opossums, coatimundi, caimans, ghost crabs, and the sunbeam snake.

[11] Hatchlings are preyed upon as they travel across the beach to the water by vultures, frigate birds, crabs, raccoons, coyotes, iguanas, and snakes.

Notably, the jaguar is the only cat with a strong enough bite to penetrate a sea turtle's shell, thought to be an evolutionary adaption from the Holocene extinction event.

In recent years, increased predation on turtles by jaguars has been noted, perhaps due to habitat loss and fewer alternative food sources.

Humans are still listed as the leading threat to L. olivacea, responsible for unsustainable egg collection, slaughtering nesting females on the beach, and direct harvesting adults at sea for commercial sale of both the meat and hides.

Coastal development, natural disasters, climate change, and other sources of beach erosion have also been cited as potential threats to nesting grounds.

[26] Hatchlings which use light cues to orient themselves to the sea are now misled into moving towards land, and die from dehydration or exhaustion, or are killed on roads.

Although some of this loss resulted from predation and high tides, the majority was attributed to conspecifics unintentionally destroying existing nests.

[17] Numerous case studies have been conducted in regions of arribadas beaches to investigate and understand the socioeconomic, cultural, and political issues of egg collection.

Over 27 million eggs are left unharvested, and villagers have played a large role in protecting these nests from predators, thereby increasing hatching success.

[7] Most participating households reported egg harvesting as their most important activity, and profits earned were superior to other forms of available employment, other than tourism.

National listings for this species range from endangered to threatened, yet enforcing these sanctions on a global scale has been unsuccessful for the most part.

Conservation successes for the olive ridley have relied on well-coordinated national programs in combination with local communities and nongovernment organizations, which focused primarily on public outreach and education.

[27] In March 2023, in Honnavar, India, local fishers sighted 86 sea turtle nests, with over 5,000 eggs in them, along a 3-km stretch of beach between Apsarakonda and Pavinkorava.