A runway at JFK Airport, New York had to be shut down on Wednesday morning after a flock of 78 turtles crawled onto the runway.

The unusual creatures arrived on the runway tarmac from a nearby bay and were spotted by pilots at 8.30 local time, leading to flight delays of up to 1 ½ hours.

Once the turtles had been spotted by the pilot, the ground crew at the airport quickly suspended all flights from the runway and started the tricky job of rounding the creatures up and ensuring they reached safety. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says that the ground crews managed to round the turtles up in around 35 minutes.

The turtles who were in a big fleet, have since been identified by the Port Authority as Diamondback Terrapins. These particular turtles that crawled onto the runway are said to have wanted to ‘mate’!

The turtles, once rounded up were quickly placed back into the nearby water, which is there natural habitat throughout America, but this time a lot further away from the airport so there would be little chance of them re-appearing on the runway!

This is not the first time Diamondback Turtles have had a coming together with planes, with 17 other reported incidents. It’s about time airports had guards to stop Turtles going on the runway!