Look! Giant 800 lb leatherback sea turtle nests in daylight in Brevard

Indiatlantic, Fla. — Beachgoers in Brevard County were surprise to see a massive 800-pound leatherback sea turtle nesting on the beach right next to the boardwalk in Indiatlantic early Thursday morning.

West Melbourne nature photographer Jimmy Golian told Florida Today he couldn't believe the size of it, "It was a shock. You walked down from the boardwalk, and it was right there."

Indialantic police responded to the call at 6:39 a.m to keep spectators from bothering the reptile.

They too, called in assistance from Dr. Kate Mansfield, A University of Central Florida researcher who shared photos of the event on twitter stating “We hit the lottery this morning!”

[ App users click here to see the tweet. ]

Mansfield told the newspaper that the turtle is one they regularly monitor and that this is her fourth documented sighting.

"Vienna" was tagged back in March of 2016 when she was spotted nesting in Juno Beach by the Loggerhead Marinelife Center.

Her shell measured in at 43 inches Thursday.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission states that leatherback's are the largest sea turtles in the world averaging 6 feet long and typically weighing between 500 to 1,500 pounds.

“They really do look like dinosaurs, don't they?”, wrote Mansfield on twitter, “Enjoy a dose of 800 pound turtle goodness!”