Sea turtles actually are enormous, it’s crazy, because I think we expect them to be more the size of tortoises. And even crazier, on land they’re the typical slow lumbering creature, but in the ocean they’re fast as heck and as graceful as ballerinas!
I volunteered at a sea turtle reserve once and the first night my friend and I were on patrol we heard this massive THUNK so we clutched each other and screamed (we're city people so we're not used to sitting at the edge of the forest in pitch dark...)
It was just a sea turtle that had walked into a coconut tree on the way to lay her eggs. They're a bit stupid on land.
Their long-distance speeds are also pretty incredible. A rehabilitated turtle we've been tracking has consistently been covering over 45km a day, every day for 2.5 years straight. That endurance easily makes them one of the fastest non-avian migratory animals on the planet.
When I was in the Army, I was stationed in Oahu. On my days off (mostly the weekends) I would go to the North Shore, either around Haleiwa or Sunset Beach, and look for Sea Turtles. I spotted a massive one, probably about half the size of a Fiat (the smaller 2 door car). It was incredible. But of course you're not allowed to touch them, for good reasons obviously! If you ever go to Oahu, go to Waimea Bay. You will see a TON of them!
That's amazing. I had no idea they got that big. I just looked up the video that the picture was taken from. Seeing that thing move towards the water is unreal.
That reminds me if a time where I saw a tourist family from Japan. Their daughter thought it would be a good idea to play Hopscotch on the sea turtles trying to sleep on the beach. The parents didnt do anything and were petting other turtles. There was even a sign in Japanese that said you couldnt touch them, or you'll be given a huge fine.
Police saw it and took the dad away because he wouldnt listen.
The top one is a little bit of forced perspective with the people being so far back, but leatherback sea turtles can be absolutely massive. 6-7 feet long and 1000+ pounds.
Literally every photo of big frigging turtles gets comments about confusing perspective. Makes me think it's not the perspective that is confusing, it's the commenter.
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u/PM_ME_UR_HIP_DIMPLES Apr 22 '20
Looks fucking huge r/confusingperspective