Sea turtles happen to be some of the most docile creatures on the planet, and you don’t need to have seen “Finding Nemo” to have an appreciation for them.
These gentle giants should be protected at all costs, as do all of our beautiful sea creatures, and sometimes we apparently need to be reminded of that.
Sercan Demirkaya, a volunteer free diver who collects marine litter off the coast of Demre, swims alongside a sea turtle he named Mahmut in waters near Cayagazi Harbor in Antalya, Turkiye, on Sept. 5, 2026. Over the past five years, the pair have developed a bond, regularly encountering each other in the early morning hours as Demirkaya patrols the seabed in his yellow canoe to clean up marine waste. Whenever the sea turtle recognizes the canoe, it swims over to accompany him, circling and interacting with him as part of their shared daily routine. (Getty Images)
Unfortunately, a video of a Ukrainian influencer couple sitting on a sea turtle as she tries to lay eggs is going viral, and the couple is now facing legal action.
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Vadym Oleynik, 32, and Olena Kravchenko, his fiancée, filmed themselves sitting on the turtle, with Vadym laughing and grabbing her as she tried desperately to escape their grasp.
The video is pretty tough to watch, especially if you have a soft spot for these creatures, and has since been deleted by the self-proclaimed “calisthenics world champion” influencer.
Perhaps the most sickening part of the entire encounter is that both Oleynik and Kravchenko are seen holding the turtle’s hatchlings, posing for photos and smiling as if everything is cool.
The couple filmed the encounter at the Ras Al Jinz Turtle Reserve in Oman.
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About 30,000 Caretta caretta hatchlings complete their incubation period and reach the sea at Iztuzu Beach in the Ortaca district of Mugla, Turkiye, on Sept. 27, 2026. (Anadolu via Getty Images)
Oman’s Environment Authority has apparently opened an investigation into the incident, calling it a violation of Omani laws and saying they have taken “necessary legal action against the individual.”
There’s no telling what the ramifications for this will be in a legal sense, but Oleynik is certainly paying for it in the court of public opinion.
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His most recent posts on his Instagram are littered with comments about how “sick” he is for taking part in this weird photo op.
After receiving almost universal backlash on social media, Oleynik issued a public apology, saying he never intended to cause harm to the turtle and calling his actions “a mistake.”
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Two Orange County beaches had sections blocked from the public on Sept. 22, 2026, after a rare sea turtle was spotted laying and burying eggs in Huntington Beach, Calif. (Los Angeles Time/Getty Images)
You can say that again.
Let’s make sure these two stay far away from the beach for a long time.
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