A huge leatherback sea turtle emerges from the water and onto a sandy beach in adorable video footage. Even though the gorgeous beast just stopped by for a brief break, it was enough to make everyone gasp.
The location of the video is unknown, but the two minute long footage shows the world’s largest turtle taking a rest on the sand, before disappearing back into the ocean. The moment was filmed by one of the beachgoers that witnessed the incredibly rare sighting.
Known as the largest turtles in the world, the leatherback turtles are usually solitary creatures that spend most of their time swimming across the ocean. They only came onshore when they lay their eggs and extremely rarely to rest – just as it happened in this case.
“Leatherbacks spend almost all of their time in the ocean with females only coming to shore to lay eggs,” the marine researchers from Oceana explained. “So from the time they hatch and enter the surf, males will never be out of the water again and are therefore more difficult to study than females.”
Even though they can reach up to 2,000 pounds in weigh, the leatherback turtles can travel thousands of miles during their lifetime. Unlikely other turtle species, these giants don’t have a very strong shell, but it looks rather like a leathery skin – just as their name says.
“Leatherback turtles are known to travel incredibly long distances during their lifetimes,” website Oceana reads. “Throughout its lifetime, a leatherback turtle may cross the ocean several times, traveling to and from preferred feeding or nesting sites.”
You can watch the moment this giant turtle emerges from the sea, in the video below!
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