First, we had "Big Brother," which begot "Survivor."
And just when we thought reality TV had reached an all-time social low with "Jon and Kate Plus 8," Florida Keys officials are bringing us sea turtles.
Yes, the lovable reptiles are the focus of their own reality TV show of sorts as the Florida Keys tourism council has started a 24-hour webcam devoted to turtle nests. The broadcast is supposed to catch baby turtles hatching and frolicking in the sand before making their way out to sea. Get your popcorn ready.
Whether the idea will hit or miss is unclear. After all, people still tune in to the wildly popular Meerkat cam at Metrozoo (trust us, we have the numbers).
The idea of the webcam is to raise awareness of nesting turtles and educate people on the dos and don'ts of turtle nest watching -- i.e. turn off those pesky bright lights.
The camera is focused on a nest with eggs expected to hatch by Aug. 24. After that, the camera will be moved to other nearby nests through Sept. 9. So for the first few days, viewers will probably catch lizards and birds marauding nests or simply nothing at all.
Sea turtles crawl ashore at night to dig nests and lay about 100 ping-pong-ball-sized eggs per nest. Approximately two months later, hatchlings emerge and seek the water.
