Man Starts Scraping ‘Strange-Looking’ Object When He Realizes It’s a Turtle

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From the archives: This story was last updated in April 2019.

On Nov. 13, 2016, a man in Taiwan was busy fishing when a floating object in the water caught his eye. He was curious to know what it was, so he took a closer look—what he discovered left him in utter shock and dismay!

Kuo Lung Liao, a resident in Kaohsiung, was fishing near Houjin River when he saw a plastic bottle floating and moving all by itself. He found this rather peculiar, as the water current was not strong. So, he put down his fishing rod and decided to check it out.

Courtesy of Kuo Lung Liao

To his dismay and astonishment, he saw a medium-sized turtle stuck underneath the bottle!

Apparently, someone had used silicone glue to stick the bottle on top of the turtle’s shell. Seeing the turtle’s miserable state, Liao sprang into action to rescue the animal, ending its suffering.

He spent much effort to scoop the bottle off the turtle’s back by scraping the silicone glue off the shell with the tools on hand.

Courtesy of Kuo Lung Liao

While speaking to TVBS, Liao believed that the bottle had been stuck to the turtle’s shell for a long period of time, as moss and impurities were attached on both the bottle and shell.

He also presumed that since the turtle was floating all the while because of the buoyant bottle, it was unable to feed itself. Extremely sad!

Courtesy of Kuo Lung Liao

He added that when he put the turtle back into the water, he noticed that the turtle took a while to get used to swimming without the bottle before it gradually swam away.

Though Liao was unsuccessful in catching fish that day, he was satisfied to have done a good deed.

Courtesy of Kuo Lung Liao

Hoping to remind others not to harm animals, Liao uploaded photos and video of this rescue on Facebook, writing, “Whether it’s animals, plants, or humans, they all need to be loved and protected. Do not inflict suffering on them just to have a moment of fun.”

“Humans are innately kind. We are all capable of doing kind, caring deeds,” he added.

Courtesy of Kuo Lung Liao

Liao’s post has garnered more than 1,700 reactions, with many thanking him for saving the poor turtle.

“Thank you for your kindness,” one user wrote.

“Thank you. I hope the turtle is doing fine,” wrote another.

Another commented, “You will be repaid for your kindness!”

Watch the video below:

Courtesy of Kuo Lung Liao