Family rescues 400-pound sea turtle trapped upside down while she was laying eggs

Sea turtles go through their unfair share of troubles, from getting straws stuck in their nostrils to getting flipped over and getting stuck in beach sand. They usually come to the seashore to lay their eggs and then crawl back into the waters. Unfortunately, one nesting mother got stuck in the sand of the Cayman Islands, but things got better when Bill Schneiderwind, his wife Debi, son Anton and Anton’s friend paused their vacation time and decided to help the massive turtle out.

On August 7, they posted on Facebook some pictures and videos of the rescue. Bill, who is from San Diego, was recalling his favorite moments from the trip and this made the list. The turtle had gotten tired from continuously trying to flip back over. While Debi went to seek their son's assistance, Bill scooped into the sand around the turtle's shell to make rolling her over easier. He did it himself before his family arrived and they helped her walk back towards the ocean. The footage sees her drag herself into the water, take a much-needed rest to quench her thirst and excitedly return to swimming the seas.

He explained in the caption, "It was stranded on the beach in front of our place, likely for most of the night, before Debi found her in the morning upside down. She was obviously exhausted. I looked her in the eye and told her I was there to help. I didn’t want to get between the creature and the sea wall, so I started to dig below the shell to make a rollaway easier. Just as I got to the point I thought it would work she flailed a bit and turned so I wouldn’t have to try to turn her over pinned against the sea wall. I managed to roll her over and she rested and oriented herself. Debi and Anton arrived and we made sure to herd her back in the right direction. 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."

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. We called the Cayman Island government and later they came to look over the site."

The Schneiderwind family discovered her nest full of eggs while looking around at the traces the turtle had made in the sand during the battle. Schneiderwind stated that the family later received confirmation from the Cayman government that the turtle did, in fact, lay eggs and that officials would watch the nest and look for hatchlings in around two months. The islands' environment department also published the video on Facebook, thanking the family for saving the turtle, whom the family called "Naomi."

 Naomi tumbled over while attempting to climb over a low cement seawall and landed on her back on the sand, according to officials. They wrote in the caption, "Earlier this month, a nesting green sea turtle tried to climb over a low cement seawall, but fell off back onto the sand, turning onto her back in the process. The next morning, the Schneiderwind family, who were visiting Grand Cayman, found her and managed to get her turned right side up so she could make her way back to sea. We extend a huge thank you to Bill, Debi, and Anton Schneiderwind for helping this beautiful turtle, whom they’ve named “Naomi,” make it safely to the sea. Turning over a 300-400lb sea turtle is no easy feat!"