Turtle give diver notice to keep hands to himself

[Mike]

 

[t4e]

should have bit his nose

 

[TSandM]

Good for the turtle!

 

[Phil_C]

Cowabunga !



P

 

[drbill]

Was diving Lighthouse Reef down there as the marine biologist on a Lindblad Expeditions eco-cruise ship. We had briefed the divers, repeatedly telling them not to touch the wildlife and specifically mentioning turtles. As I was filming a hawksbill swimming toward me, one of the divers reached out her hand, touched it and caused it to quickly change course away from us. I wish it had been this turtle that she did it to!

 

[dumpsterDiver]

A long time ago, I thought it was cool to ride big loggerheads. As a kid I always caught turtles in the woods, so I knew where to hold the turtle so he couldn't bite me.. but what I didn't know was the turtle was strong enough and smart enough to flip me over on my back and repeatedly smash the back of my head into the coral, all the while I could NOT release him because he was also trying to spin around and bite me. If you have ever seen a turtle bite a conch, you know that you do not want a bite.

I don't bother no turtles no mo.

 

[Nirvana]

The guy not only did not respect the "do not touch" rule, he tried to grab the animal. The turtle let him off easy.

 

[Downing]

I was snorkeling in Cozumel a few years ago (a case of swimmer's ear prevented me from diving), when the snorkel leader grabbed a small turtle and brought it up to the surface and held it out of the water for the other snorkelers' "enjoyment." They all gathered around and were petting it like it was a dog. The turtle was obviously stressed and was flapping his flippers like crazy.

It kind of made me sick, so I just turned away.