“She was so heavy …”
When Isabella Santos and her friends went to the beach recently, they expected nothing more than a peaceful afternoon by the ocean. But shortly after arriving, their relaxing outing turned into an unexpected rescue mission when they discovered a massive sea turtle trapped near the shoreline.
Around 2 p.m., Santos and her friends made their way to a quieter, more secluded section of the beach, hoping to escape the crowds. They were enjoying a walk along the sand when Santos noticed something unusual among the rocks nearby.
Looking closer, she realized that a large sea turtle had become wedged between them and appeared unable to move.
Santos immediately rushed over to see if the animal was still alive. What she discovered was alarming. The turtle had apparently been stuck outside the water for a significant amount of time and was growing dangerously weak.
“I found her trapped between the rocks,” Santos told The Dodo. “The turtle was dying because she’d been out of the water for so long.” believed the turtle may have been carried toward the rocks during high tide. After the ocean receded, the animal was left lying awkwardly between the stones with no way to escape.
Although no one knew exactly how long she had been trapped, Santos could still see signs of breathing. That was enough to convince the group that there was still time to help.
Freeing the turtle, however, was not going to be simple. The fully grown animal weighed several hundred pounds, making it impossible for Santos to move her alone.
Her friends quickly joined the rescue effort. Even with four people working together, moving such a large animal safely proved extremely difficult.
“There were four of us, and it took us 15 minutes to move her because she was so heavy,” Santos said. “The hardest part was moving her very carefully so as not to hurt her.”
After roughly 15 exhausting minutes, the group finally managed to free the turtle from the rocks. They carefully placed her on the sand with her head facing toward the ocean.
At first, the turtle seemed exhausted and barely responsive, so the friends continued helping her toward the water.
Once they reached the shoreline, waves began washing over her body. Little by little, the turtle appeared to regain her strength.
Soon, the turtle was fully back in the ocean. The four rescuers continued supporting her for a moment because they wanted to make sure she was strong enough to swim on her own.
Then a large wave rolled toward them and carried the turtle away.
To everyone’s relief, she began swimming normally, disappearing back into the ocean and proving that she had recovered enough to return to her natural home.
You can watch footage of the rescue here:
Santos and her friends had gone to the beach expecting a normal day in the sun. Instead, they found themselves helping save an animal’s life.
Only about 20 minutes after discovering the turtle trapped and struggling, they watched her swim safely back into the sea.
For the group, seeing her return to the ocean made the unexpected experience unforgettable.
“We felt relief,” Santos said.