Bad weather is usually the reason that affects flight schedules but one must not have heard that it is a brigade of amorous turtles that is the reason behind flight delays. It has been reported that on Wednesday, the schedules of the flights at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York have been delayed due to the presence of the Diamondback Terrapin turtles. It has been reported by the New York Daily News that the turtles had come from the Jamaica Bay lying nearby in search of breeding grounds.

The airport authorities had to struggle literally to remove the turtles from the airport runways as they were 78 in number. At about 8.30 a.m the turtles were reported to have been seen by a pilot. In about 35 minutes the runway was cleared off the turtle who were almost scooped off and were left in the bay from where they had come from. According to reports, these amorous turtles were 2 to 3 pounds in weight and were 8 to 10 inches in length.

Port Authority John Kelly has been quoted saying, “Presumably, all these turtles were feeling amorous.” He added that though the turtles caused some inconveniences, “[everybody] had a good attitude considering it was turtles going off to hatch more turtles.”

Also called as Malaclemys Terrapins, these turtles are found in the brackish coastal swamps in the eastern and southern parts of the United States. From 1990 to 2007, about 18 strikes have taken place between the Diamondback Terrapins and the civil aircrafts as reported by the FAA National Wildlife Strike Database though none of the encounters ended with a damage to the aircraft.