A sea turtle was treated as a photo prop by a couple in Hawaiʻi.
ABC 7 Eyewitness News reported on the incident, posting a video of the man grabbing a sea turtle on a Hawaiian beach and posing for a picture. He held the turtle by its shell and turned it upward so its belly was facing his woman companion. He knelt down and smiled for the camera, completely disregarding the turtle's safety and comfort.
Hawaiian green sea turtles, also known as honu turtles, are protected under state and federal laws, including the Inter American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles. Under the federal Endangered Species Act as well as Hawaiʻi's state laws, these sea turtles are classified as a threatened species, per National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.
On the IUCN Red List, these turtles are now marked as a species of least concern, and the populations are trending upward. However, this is due to strong efforts to help the species bounce back. Successful species recovery does not give people permission to treat the animals as beach decor.
The turtles can be especially sensitive during mating and hatching season. Harassing the protected turtles is punishable by up to one year in jail and additional fines. People can even be charged with an offense for getting too close to a turtle, so picking one up for a photo op is unacceptable.
Close contact with wildlife also endangers humans. Sea turtles are generally harmless, but they could bite or snap if they feel threatened. You should never approach, let alone touch, a wild animal. It puts you and the animal in danger, which is not conducive to a healthy ecosystem.
To create a cooler, cleaner future, everyone needs to respect wildlife. If you see a green sea turtle, keep your distance and admire the majestic animal from afar. Grabbing and posing with a turtle, as this man did, is extremely distressing for the animal.
Melina Clark, a marine wildlife advocate who watched the video, told ABC, "My heart stopped. It was disturbing, disgusting. It just showed once again that here we are in 2025, nothing has improved."
If people want to admire these beautiful sea creatures while enjoying a Hawaiian beach, it's important to treat them with respect and give them their space.
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