Kite surfer reveals how sea turtle he rescued from fishing nets rewarded him with underwater hug as if to say thanks for saving its life
A Puerto Rican kite surfer who saved a turtle from fishing nets was rewarded for his actions with a hug from the endangered sea creature. The underwater rescue and touching encounter with the turtle afterwards was filmed on a GoPro camera at the start of the year by two friends who were spear fishing off Baja on the Mexican coast.
When kite surfer Cameron Dietrich and Colin Sutton spotted the distressed sea turtle they quickly dived in the ocean to try to rescue it.
'When I saw the turtle tangled up I jumped in the water and began to cut it free,' Dietrich told MailOnline. 'It was totally worn out from fighting for its life for last probably 12 to 20 hours.'
Using a dive knife, Dietrich carefully cut away the tangle of rope and netting that had wrapped itself around a front fin, while Sutton helped the turtle to float.
Once it had been freed, Dietrich described how he stayed beneath the turtle to make sure it had the strength to swim after its traumatic experience. Reassured that the turtle was going to be fine, Dietrich swam away from it, stopping a short distance away to watch the creature.
But in an unexpected move, the turtle slowly circled back and returned to the surfer, stopping inches from his face and letting him gently hold it, as if to say thanks.
'It returned back to me on top of my chest and came right up to my face and let me touch its under shell,' he said. 'It got right up to my mask then swam off.' 'For me, it was an unusual and wonderful moment,' he added. 'After it came up to my face it swam off into the blue straight.'
Dietrich told MaiOnline that as a professional watersports athlete he has seen many animals trapped by the debris dumped in the oceans. 'We are being poor stewards of our ocean. It bothers me to both see the disregard for our planet but also the endangering of animals,' he said.
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A Puerto Rican kite surfer who saved a turtle from fishing nets was rewarded for his actions with a hug from the endangered sea creature. The underwater rescue and touching encounter with the turtle afterwards was filmed on a GoPro camera at the start of the year by two friends who were spear fishing off Baja on the Mexican coast.
When kite surfer Cameron Dietrich and Colin Sutton spotted the distressed sea turtle they quickly dived in the ocean to try to rescue it.
'When I saw the turtle tangled up I jumped in the water and began to cut it free,' Dietrich told MailOnline. 'It was totally worn out from fighting for its life for last probably 12 to 20 hours.'
Using a dive knife, Dietrich carefully cut away the tangle of rope and netting that had wrapped itself around a front fin, while Sutton helped the turtle to float.
Once it had been freed, Dietrich described how he stayed beneath the turtle to make sure it had the strength to swim after its traumatic experience. Reassured that the turtle was going to be fine, Dietrich swam away from it, stopping a short distance away to watch the creature.
But in an unexpected move, the turtle slowly circled back and returned to the surfer, stopping inches from his face and letting him gently hold it, as if to say thanks.
'It returned back to me on top of my chest and came right up to my face and let me touch its under shell,' he said. 'It got right up to my mask then swam off.' 'For me, it was an unusual and wonderful moment,' he added. 'After it came up to my face it swam off into the blue straight.'
Dietrich told MaiOnline that as a professional watersports athlete he has seen many animals trapped by the debris dumped in the oceans. 'We are being poor stewards of our ocean. It bothers me to both see the disregard for our planet but also the endangering of animals,' he said.
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This is a beautiful testament to the good that man is capable of when choosing to care for the sacredness of all life forms. Turtles are one of the oldest if not the oldest living species that ever inhabited our planet. Turtles hold a special place as a result in Native American shamanic traditions as a representation or symbol for Mother Earth Herself. Turtles represent long life and anyone with this totem will most likely be blessed with very long life indeed. My concern for this particular turtle is that the fin that was entangled appears to have been injured, as he is not moving that fin much if at all when swimming free. Lets hope it will repair itself and he will be back to his old self in no time. And lets hope that this video is shared far and wide in hopes of helping raise awareness of the many similar dangers lurking in our waterways that our precious sealife are threatened by. Dear Great One of Heaven and Earth, help all mankind become more responsible stewards to safe guard all precious wildlife on land or sea, and may our children and their children come to realize their beauty for all generations to come. Mytakuya Oyesin!
To anonymous: Thank you for sharing your wisdom...I am speechless with emotion!