A circumglobal species, nesting on beaches of tropical seas in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, and foraging widely and regularly in temperate waters.
Immature animals are similarly impossible to count at sea.
Dense Leatherback nesting occurs along the Pacific coast of Mexico in Michoacan, Guerrero and Oaxaca. If these records refer to a single breeding assemblage, this represents the largest known population. Allowing for other nest beaches in the area, and re-nesting of each turtle after about 10 days, the total number nesting per season may be estimated at 30,000. Multiplying by 2.5 to allow for a two or three year nesting cycle, the total breeding female population using this tri-state area is around 75,000. By far the largest extant sea turtle, approaching 1.8m in length.