This 8-year-old girl took the opportunity to do something incredible while on her family vacation. Rather than just soak up some sun, she decided to save a life. This little girl saved the world’s most endangered sea turtle.
Videos by Outdoors
Family Vacation Turns Heroic
Katie and her family were enjoying their vacation to Oak Island, North Carolina, when the 8-year-old noticed something. Right off the Ocean Crest Pier, she spotted a sea turtle. However, this sea turtle wasn’t swimming freely. Instead, the poor thing was caught on a fishing hook.
Fortunately for this little guy, Katie knew just what to do. Good Good Good shares that she and her family immediately called for assitance. They reached out to the Oak Island Sea Turtle Protection Program. The “all-volunteer nonprofit organization helps rescue and monitor sea turtles in the area.”
The program confirmed that not only has Katie helped save a life, but she also saved one of the most endangered sea turtles. The turtle caught in the hook was none other than a Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle.
The outlet shared that the world’s smallest sea turtle is a rare sight in North Carolina, as they primarily nest along the Gulf of Mexico. Nevertheless, one little turtle seemed to have wandered too far from home.
Little Girl Saved Endangered Sea Turtle
The rescue program made sure to give Katie a shout-out for her heroic actions. On April 17, they shared a Facebook post thanking her for her actions. In the post, they shared that they had been finding many “hooked, stranded, and deceased turtles.”
However, because of Katie’s call, they were able to save this Kemp Ridley Sea Turtle before it was too late. They wrote,” A big thank you to Katie, 8 years old, and her family from Spartanburg, SC, for calling us to make sure the turtle was okay.”
From. There, they shared that they “assessed the turtle, checked him for tags, got some great data for the state, and released him immediately.” Thanks to Katie’s eagle eye and her family’s quick thinking, along with the amazing rescue program, this turtle will live to see another day. What a great thing for all!
