Have you ever swum with a turtle? Honestly, that feeling is quite exhilarating. A majestic and elegant creature that flies through the ocean, occasionally giving you a couple of glances. That connection with a turtle can sometimes leave you in awe of its mysteriousness and beauty.

A man reaching out his hand to a green turtle. (Photo by Stephen Leonardi on Unsplash)

I remember my first exposure to sea turtles was Crush and his son, Squirt from the Disney film ‘Finding Nemo’. At the age of six, I just thought that Squirt was really cute and since then sea turtles became one of my favourite animals.

Fast forward to my first swim with a green turtle in the Mediterranean Sea just last year. That could really be my best wildlife moment so far. She was so graceful yet swift, and within 20 seconds, she was out of my sight. (Listen to my water-scream, yikes!)

My first swim with a sea turtle. (© Regine Tiong)

Sea turtles were ranked as the third most popular animal for wildlife conservation work (17%) in an environmental research study regarding volunteer tourism in the early 2000s by Ellis C. (2003). Despite ranking after marine mammals (29%) and terrestrial animals (22%), sea turtles are nevertheless the most favoured single animal group. A possible reason to why people are attracted to work with sea turtles is the docile nature of nesting females which provides opportunities for safe close interactions. Campbell L. & Smith C. (2006) also expressed that sea turtles are “one of the only large, endangered taxa so easily approached”. 

In another study in Florida, Bradford B. & Israel G. (2004) recorded that the most important reason which motivates sea turtle volunteers is helping and protecting the turtles. So why do turtle volunteers want to help turtles and what exactly do they value about turtles?

Click here to read about the various values we may associate with turtles.