A 400-Pound Mother Turtle in Distress Got Help From Some Good Samaritans

The summer is prime time for turtle nesting, as mother turtles return to where they were born to lay their own eggs. But the journey can sometimes be treacherous, and some turtles sadly don't make it back to the water.

That appeared to be the case for one enormous sea turtle in the Cayman Islands. A California family woke up one morning to find the testudine flipped over on its back on the sand. Bill Schneiderwind, the vacationer who was involved in the rescue, recounted the experience in a viral Facebook post.

“For me by far [the highlight of the trip] will be the chance opportunity to rescue a giant sea turtle,” he wrote. "It was stranded on the beach in front of our place, likely for most of the night, before [wife] Debi found her in the morning upside down."

"We discovered after looking around that she had come from the sea, dug a hole to deposit her eggs, curiously leaving the hole open, and traversed a path that I narrated in the video, ultimately resulting in a tumble off the four-foot sea wall and landing where Debi found her," he continued. "She had obviously been trying to right herself all night to the point of exhaustion. I did not see any evidence of trauma and thought the best thing to do was try to turn her over."

The family's kind actions earned the praise of the Grand Cayman Department of Environment. "Turning over a 300–400-pound sea turtle is no easy feat!" the post read, noting that the family named their new friend Naomi.

At this time of year more than ever, if you see a turtle in distress, be sure to call the proper authorities who can tell you how to best proceed.