This year’s first clutch of 89 eggs hatched by a captive sea turtle was discovered in a national sea turtle nature reserve in Huizhou City, Guangdong Province, south China.

According to the reserve, the green turtle arrived on the beach about 10 p.m. on Saturday and began excavating. It started laying eggs at 10:30 p.m. After an hour, it returned to the water, covering the 89 eggs with sand.

According to Yu Guozhong of the nature reserve, the turtle, known as “Xiang Xiang,” is 30 years old and one of the sanctuary’s first cultivated turtles. It was Xiangxiang’s second production, following the first in 2017.

In 2021, nine turtles came ashore to lay eggs, resulting in 45 batches of eggs and 1,880 young.