Injured Endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle Lays Eggs In Hospital (PHOTOS)

An injured Hawksbill sea turtle has laid six eggs after being rescued and brought to a turtle hospital in the Marathon, Fla.

The Hawksbill is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the Cheloniidae family. It is the only extant species of its kind.

The turtle was found at St. Croix beach on Aug. 24 just after tropical storm Isaac swept over the Virgin Islands.

The staff at the Turtle Hospital harvested the eggs that have been put in an incubator with sand from the U.S. Virgin Islands to familiarize the baby turtles with their native sand when they hatch, AP reported quoting Bette Zirkelbach, administrator of the hospital.

The turtle was brought to the hospital with deep injuries on its shoulders apparently from a fishing hook and is undergoing treatment, the report said.

Hawksbills have a worldwide distribution and their shells change colors slightly, depending on the temperature of water. While this species live a part of their early life in the open ocean, adult hawksbills are normally found in shallow lagoons and coral reefs.

Hawksbills are classified as critically endangered because of their slow growth and reproductive rates.