'Turtle Cam' Launched in Florida Keys Shows Loggerheads in Action

A new "turtle cam" just installed in the Florida Keys is providing viewers the unique opportunity to watch infant loggerhead sea turtles hatching and emerging from their nest.

The high-definition camera, funded by the Keys Tourism Council, offers real-time viewing of loggerheads in their natural habitat without disturbing their regular routine - daytime observation of the nest uses natural light and is illuminated by infrared lighting at nighttime.

"The technology that we're using on this webcam is high-definition, the first time ever used, and also an infrared IR-emitting light that is so important because it does not disturb any of the activities of the turtle trying to find the ambient light of the moon," Harry Appel, president of the Keys-based Save-a-Turtle organization, said according to CBS Local Miami.

Loggerhead turtles are he most abundant of all marine turtles throughout the United States. But, according to Uncover California, human development and pollution has compromised their nesting areas, thereby impacting overall numbers. Since the late 1970s, the population has dwindled and the turtles are currently considered a threatened species.

Currently focused on a nest with eggs estimated to hatch during the next week, the webcam is part of ongoing efforts in the Keys to raise awareness about the need to protect this species.

"What people are more likely to see on the webcam is first a small miniature volcano cave-in and then a mad rush of turtles all coming out at once," Appel explained. "It could be 50 to 75 of them coming out of that hole and heading for the most ambient light they can, which is the moon."

Aside from the loggerhead, green, leatherback, hawksbill and Kemp's ridley sea turtles nest on beaches in the Keys and other parts of Florida, and inhabit Florida and Keys waters. All five species are considered either threatened or endangered, noted CBS Local.

Besides the webcam, other attempts are being made to protect imperiled sea turtle species. Just last Thursday, the NOAA announced the designation of critical habitat for the loggerhead sea turtle along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts - possibly the biggest protective move on behalf of the marine animal in US history.

The webcam, which can be seen here, has been approved by the US Fish & Wildlife Service as well as the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.