Dad takes kids to zoo to see turtles. They get an unexpected lesson in the birds and the bees

An innocent trip to a petting zoo left one Texas dad utterly shell-shocked.

“Well, that was enlightening… I didn’t know turtles made noises,” Vincent Powell captioned a now-viral Instagram post, featuring four mating tortoises. In the clip, Powell’s sons, Michael, 6, and Peyton, 4, are adorably unaware of what’s happening, as are the other children around them.

“They’re trying to get food,” Peyton announces, to which Powell deadpans, “They’re trying to get something else.”

The reptiles are mid-coitus — and moaning — when Peyton offers one of the males a leaf of lettuce and suggests making them race to see who’s the hungriest. Meanwhile, Michael is concerned that the unpartnered turtle is “sad” because he doesn’t have “a girl.”

According to the Learning Zoo in Midlands, Texas, their sulcata tortoises are known for getting amorous.

“Glad ya’ll enjoyed your visit! I wish I could say this never happens, but it’s a daily thing for them,” zoo owner Drew Schultz wrote in the comments.

• “He feeding my boy while he getting some shell.”
• “Eating lettuce while doing the do is either a serious commitment to sex or serious commitment to eating healthy. Either way, I’m in awe.”
• “Being fed while getting some…well played.”
• “It sounds like you’re holding on for dear life not to laugh.” 
• “It’s the kids casually feeding and petting while they having a whole orgy in the process.”

Powell, a film producer and university professor, laughs as he recalls how Peyton initially thought the turtles were wrestling.

“Peyton ended up getting too close to one of the turtles and got bit,” Powell tells TODAY.com. “Someone from the petting zoo came over to give him a Band-Aid and they were like, ‘This is how turtles mate.’ And he got a whole education. It was definitely a memorable afternoon.”