Turtle Tries to Find Way Off Fishing Dock

Occurred on July 22, 2024 / Sylvester, Georgia, USA

Info from Licensor: "I was visiting my 80-year-old mom (my children's 'Nana') in Georgia over the summer. They LOVE going to Nana's house. While my mother was fishing in her pond, a turtle got hooked on her fishing hook. The turtles are always super curious around fishing hooks and sometimes take the bait from the fish! Sometimes they end up on the end of the hook. Well, this turtle got too close to the fishing hook and got hooked on its right foot. Even though the hook was barely in the turtle's skin, its skin was very rough so it took me a while to get out the hook. As I was trying to take out the hook, the turtle tried very diligently to bite me several times. It even hissed as it tried! That was wild. My cousin held a fishing pole in front of its head so it couldn't peek out and bite me. I finally got the hook out. I gently turned over the turtle with my foot, giving it space not to bite me, and it took off running but in the wrong direction! I gently nudged it to encourage it to go the right way but it wouldn't. I stopped recording so I could focus on directing it back to the water. I wish I would have kept recording because many people inquired on whether it made it back to the water. People were also amazed at its speed and the pretty colors on its underside. They also wondered why I didn't just pick up the turtle and put it back in the water. I responded to quite a few people (most?) to give them context and answer their inquiries. I never imagined this video would go viral. I still don't get it but, hey, you never know! Thousands of comments, sharing, reposting of the video, and adding it to favorites. I am always taking pictures and videos with my little ones. This one happened to catch a lot of attention - over 1 million views in one day and triple that amount after a week (and still counting - views, likes, sharing, reposts...). Just wild! Credit: YT/@ernestburleyjr.5633."