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Kemp's Ridley turtles lay 50-130 eggs at a time. Headstart programs, captive breeding and incubation were started in 1978 in order to increase the number of sea turtles. These programs protect the turtles when they are young and susceptible to predators like seagulls, ghostcrabs, coyotes, and people. Turtles hatched in the wild generally emerge at night and can take several hours to two days to crawl to the water. In that time they can be run over by cars or become disoriented by artificial lights. Incubating the eggs ensures that all hatchlings survive to the water, giving the group a better chance for survival overall.