A video from Oman showing a man and a woman sitting and lying on the shell of a sea turtle is being widely discussed on social media. The Italian conservation project Biologicamente reported that the footage was posted by a user named Vadym Oliinyk.
The author of Biologicamente criticized the behavior, stressing that a sea turtle is a wild animal that should not be touched, burdened, or used for photographs.
According to the project’s author, the tourists were accompanied by volunteers from an organization that allegedly monitors sea turtle nests in Oman. As stated, they considered this an argument that they were not violating animal welfare rules.
At the same time, Biologicamente questioned the professionalism of the organization. The project said that a serious conservation organization would not allow people to sit on the shell of a wild animal for photographs.
Apology after criticism
Following the criticism, Oliinyk posted an apology in an Instagram story. He addressed Oman’s Environment Authority and an organization involved in protecting green sea turtles.
According to him, he failed to take animal handling rules into account and made a mistake.
Biologicamente said it had contacted the relevant authorities and intends to seek an official investigation.
Reaction from Threads users
The situation also sparked lively discussion among Ukrainian users on Threads. One user wrote:
“First, you show what a tough guy you are, capable of climbing onto a turtle. Your companion does the same. Then you record an apology and say that you were misled and did not see the rules.”
Another user drew attention to the very fact of such treatment of the animal:
“The very fact that they considered it normal to climb onto a turtle already says everything about the kind of people they are. No words are needed anymore. Like, if he had known it was forbidden, he would not have climbed on it, but the question ‘why do this at all?’ never even occurred to him.”
