Record number of green sea turtles nest in Florida (video)
It's hatching time for green sea turtles on the Atlantic Coast at the Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge in Florida.
This refuge, which is south of Cape Canaveral, has seen a record year in terms of the number of green sea turtles hatching.
Watch: Sea turtle hugs diver after being cut free from fishing net
Scientists at the University of Central Florida have counted more than 12,000 nests so far this season.
This is good news for the refuge and the green sea turtles living there have been doing well for years.
See also: Green sea turtles released back into wild after huge beach clean-up
These turtles won't reach maturity until they're at least 25-years-old, so what we're seeing now is the result of the protection plans put in place decades ago.
The university has now been counting sea turtle nests for 25 years and it will carry on counting for the foreseeable future.
According to Conserve Turtles, the difference between green sea turtles and others is the single pair of scales in front of their eyes.
Adults can reach lengths of three to four feet and weigh between 240 and 420 pounds.
Contrary to popular belief, the turtles are not given their name for the colour of their shells, but instead for the greenish colour of their skin, National Geographic reports.
The green sea turtles will usually undertake a lengthy migration to move from feeding grounds to their nesting sites, which can usually be found on sandy beaches, as shown in the footage.
The animals are listed as 'endangered' animals in the US and internationally so the record numbers recorded this year show an encouraging move towards a larger green sea turtle population.
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