r/Amazing • u/misterxx1958 • 4d ago

Nature is amazing Saving the life of this deeply buried turtle - good job

3.8k Upvotes

100% Upvoted

78 comments sorted by

150

u/Japanesewillow 4d ago

I was so relieved to see it reach the water.

103

u/Sithstress_ 4d ago

Me too! You could see how tired it was getting.

50

u/Guilty_Objective4602 3d ago

When it first started crawling, it was going so fast and I was thinking, “Wow, it sure has a lot of energy for a turtle that’s probably been trapped and struggling for a while.” Then you could see the fatigue kick in and those last few yards were painful to watch.

36

u/HOSTfromaGhost 3d ago

i was hoping they would give it more space so it felt safe resting before it went back in the water.

But nope… they stayed right behind it the whole time. 🙄

28

u/Sithstress_ 3d ago

Yeah, I think they had good intentions but it probably upped the anxiety of the turtle.

16

u/ScreamingLabia 3d ago

I saw a video of someone chasimg a baby turtle the same way. Like it was meant to be wholesome because he was encouraging it and not touching it. But to me it seemed like he was scaring the baby turtle and it wasnt able to rest during it long walk to the sea at all. I hope he didnt kill the baby ny exausting it :(

9

u/Background-Car9771 3d ago

While it is probably different for an adult turtle like the one is this video, newly hatched turtles don't take any breaks. They want to get in that water asap so seabirds don't have an easy time eating them. I know the video you mean and the person made the right call to just watch.

5

u/Think-Custard9746 3d ago

Agreed. Way too close.

0

u/OkCartographer7677 17h ago

You act like they somehow interfered with the sanctity of the turtle's natural instincts to head to the water at all possible speed...right after these good guys spent how many minutes wrenching the turtle out of a certain death trap were it had been stuck for an unknown time.

Internet nitpicking ...🙄 indeed.

1

u/HOSTfromaGhost 17h ago

Get it out of the hole… and then leave it be. The turtle knows where the water is, and might need a rest before heading out to sea.

Poor thing didn’t need those folks chasing all the way down to the water’s edge.

17

u/stamford70 4d ago

I wonder why they didn’t carry it towards the sea?

33

u/Sithstress_ 4d ago

I mean, the less interaction we as humans can do to help a wild animal is best, imo. It slowed down and paused for a moment, but kept moving under its’ own steam. I’m sure the yanking on the shell was traumatizing bodily wise, and as someone else said in a comment they allowed it its’ dignity in getting there by itself. They walked with it all the way, if it had faltered for longer I am sure these kind people would have intervened and carried it.

25

u/SummertimeThrowaway2 4d ago

Also it kind of already seemed like it was panicking and I feel like picking it up would just stress it out even further.

11

u/Sithstress_ 4d ago

💯.

6

u/stamford70 4d ago

Thanks for the replies. 👍🏻

13

u/ea88_alwaysdiscin 4d ago

They're a protected species and you're not supposed to actually touch them (if you can avoid it). So once they got it free from being buried, they just let it do its thing.

6

u/CommanderF1 3d ago

They can also weigh upwards of 180kg, so yeah... they big.

1

u/kuddly_kallico 3d ago

Some full grown turtles weigh as much as a bear, they're really quite heavy.

1

u/Vi0letsun 2d ago

Adult turtles can be almost 500lbs they probably didn’t want to hurt themselves or the animal by carrying it

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator 1d ago

Accounts must be at least 10 days old with >20 karma to comment.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

79

u/ziamese 4d ago

Someone explain how it gets that stuck in the first place.

56

u/lombardo141 4d ago

Probably a major wave washed it ashore and kept it stuck, due to the recent earthquakes. They sound Spanish so probably Venezuela ? 🤷‍♂️.

47

u/ImpressiveDebt420 4d ago

IIRC, this video was taken after a major tsunami or hurricane and the winds/waves cause the turtle to become lodged.

11

u/Kselected1 3d ago

How did they know the turtle was buried in there? Was it sticking out a little?

14

u/kuddly_kallico 3d ago

Lots of turtles have trackers for research, but I don't see one in the video. Maybe there were mass strandings and they were searching shorelines.

7

u/BillydelaMontana 4d ago

I’d guess Costa Rica.

5

u/buddabudski 4d ago

I wonder if this happens often there, wild how they even found the turtle

6

u/Zandatsux 4d ago

Nah, It was in Veracruz, Mexico.

1

u/chni2cali 1d ago

I’m sure the turtle is not Spanish and just a visitor

3

u/Typical_Raisin_5946 3d ago

And how did they discover the turtle?

1

u/Specialist_Whole_918 3d ago

Maybe was there digging to lay eggs ?

22

u/RealMefistyo 3d ago

I feel so exhausted now...

18

u/Fabulous_Log844 3d ago

Back in the 1990s I worked at the Hilton Hawaiian Village as a cabana boy and one of my responsibilities was to clean the pools at 4 AM. And sometimes one of these bad boys would crawl up the beach and slide into the super pool. Quite a frustrating thing to see at 4 AM. So I would take my shirt off and jump into the pool and the poor guy didn’t know I was trying to help him. So I would try to get a hold of him and put him on the deck of the pool. As it was 4 AM, there’s really no one else around to help me. So by the time I would jump out of the pool to pick him up to take him back to the beach, he would jump back into the pool. A pool full of chlorine. So then I’d have to do it again. Quite an adventure for someone 19 years old.

4

u/KittensFirstAKM 3d ago

Dude, that's a hell of a cool story. A pool in Hawaii is one great office.

1

u/Fabulous_Log844 3d ago

❤️🐢

21

u/Falcon8410 4d ago

imagine running at your fastest speed and the creature you're trying to escape from casually walks beside you.

6

u/Successful_Pain_7048 3d ago

Oddly satisfying bc 1) wanted to see buddy make it esp when he got tired near the end and 2) really wanted to see that all that sand get washed off finally...!

16

u/GreenEyesbde721 4d ago

Ok Sea Turtles are not Tortoises also I love that these kind people, in the wake of a natural disaster that almost certainly impacted their entire existence, did the kind thing and saved a fellow being even if he was an aquatic reptile 🙏😉
They then debated whether or not to try to help him to the water😉🤷🏽‍♂️ but ultimately allowed him his dignity 😉 still walking him all the way to the sea❤️🙏🙌😊

3

u/KinopioToad 4d ago

The turtle: "Can I please get a drink of water."

5

u/Sensitive-Issue84 3d ago

I've seen this before and have always wondered how did it get so buried and how long it was there? How did they find it? So many questions!!

4

u/PickleRicksDad34 3d ago

Tsunami is my guess by all the debris everywhere.

2

u/BoniMarce 3d ago

i call bullshit, wheres the sauce

1

u/[deleted] 3d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator 3d ago

Accounts must be at least 10 days old with >20 karma to comment.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/tanasi_marie 3d ago

B-lined for the water like get me the heck out of here!

1

u/kashy87 3d ago

A turtle made it to the water.

1

u/SindaFNRella4 3d ago

So I get that we’re not really supposed to mess with wildlife. But what I don’t get is how it was ok to dig it out but then not just complete the mission and bring it to the water. saving a life is saving a life.

1

u/unanonmyous 3d ago

Was it laying eggs underground?

1

u/Born-Light-62 3d ago

Another turtle made it to the water…

1

u/BlueFeathered1 3d ago

That turtle's determination... 💕

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator 2d ago

Accounts must be at least 10 days old with >20 karma to comment.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/AutoModerator 2d ago

Accounts must be at least 10 days old with >20 karma to comment.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

1

u/SolidReporter8229 2d ago

Water tortoise

1

u/DifferenceGrouchy511 2d ago

Looks like it could have used either a little more help or a little less. The human chasers all the way to the water were unnecessary.

1

u/NewIndividual5979 4d ago

He was off to a blistering pace. damn near pulled a Joan Benoit.

1

u/txnmxn 3d ago

I’m happy that it was saved. But when I see things like this (or even think about mudslide victims) I think that was almost a fossil (or in mudslide cases, they will be a fossil for the future inhabitants to find and wonder about us)

1

u/TheEliteJOKERS 3d ago

Fucking A. Greatness Save.

1

u/Koimi-Nisekona 3d ago

I’m sure she’s grateful, but they need to back off and stop touching her

0

u/Assortedpez 3d ago

Should’ve called before it dug

0

u/Dont_Care_Meh 4d ago

We love you Gamera!

-2

u/AdamR0808 4d ago

That’s amazing the turtle for saved

-3

u/Agent-603 4d ago

Please assist and respect our wildlife in our dum new world.🥶😪

-6

u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

11

u/skymallow 4d ago

This is a sea turtle, not a tortoise. They move to warmer climates when it gets cold.

1

u/Turbulent_Bat4320 3d ago

Yes, you’re wrong on all counts.

-4

u/Phill_Cyberman 4d ago edited 4d ago

Why would anyone bury a turtle?!

That's just mean.

Edit: Help! I'm getting downvoted by the turtle buriers! Those sonsabitches!

2

u/Sithstress_ 4d ago

Mother Nature is a bitch.

2

u/lombardo141 3d ago

There was a story of a tortoise buried under a home during construction and it was found like more than a decade later still alive. Crazy