Yes, the video reliably shows how the “largest turtle in the world” crawls along the beach

Claim:

A video posted on social media in mid-October 2024 purportedly shows the “world’s largest turtle” scuttling along the beach.

Rating:

context:

The video authentically showed the leatherback turtle, the largest species in the world. However, it was recorded from a low angle, making the reptile appear larger than it actually was. This is a trick of photographic deception known as forced perspective.

Video submitted by X on October 14, 2024. showed up to show (archived) a large turtle gliding along the sandy beach to the astonishment of the audience. Compared to the humans in the background, the turtle looked huge—which may explain the 1.2 million views the video has garnered at the time of writing.

According to Google’s translation tool, the caption, written in Thai, read: “This is the largest turtle in the world. This is a turtle that has neither scales nor shell. I wish you safe travels!!!”

In short, the video itself was authentic and shows the largest known turtle species in the world, so we rated this claim as true. However, the footage was shot at a low angle, making the animal appear larger than it actually is, thanks to a photographic trick known as forced perspective.

There was no indication that the footage was created using artificial intelligence software. Similarly, Hive Moderation, a website with an AI detection tool, said there is virtually no chance that a video contains AI-generated content or is deeply fake.

(Hive Moderation AI-Generated Content Detection)

The clip appeared before will be published first on an Instagram page called @karibnyaralas on April 20, 2024.

This inscription, partially in Hungarian, read: “Nature is the greatest miracle! It’s time to take care of her!!!” The post also included credit for another Instagram user, @mikesudi16, who also shared the footage on Instagram after nine days. judge commented that the recording was filmed on the beach of Macau, Dominican Republic.

Karen Byrdconsultant of the endangered and migratory species protection group South Pacific Regional Environmental Programidentified the turtle in the video as a leatherback.

According to National Park Service and National Ocean ServiceLeatherback turtles are the largest species of sea turtle alive today, with adults reaching over 6 feet in length and weighing over 2,000 pounds—an impressive size considering their diet consists primarily of sea jelly and other soft-bodied marine animals.

https://www.instagram.com/karibnyaralas/reel/C5-EZt3of2I/

However, the size of the turtle in the video is out of proportion to the rest of the frame due to a deceptive trick known as forced perspective. This concept is behind many of the widely circulated photographs in which subjects appear too big to be true, from “the bullfrog monster“to a a seemingly huge bear — and yes, another video a leatherback turtle.

Like Snopes before reportedforced perspective can:

In solving this problem, Baird said that “perspective was improved by the cameraman’s position with the turtle in the foreground and the people behind.”

As shown in the 23-second clip, a turtle is seen running across the sand in the foreground of the video, while a crowd of onlookers stands behind the animal. This placement of objects in the foreground and background shifts the scale of size to give the impression that the leatherback turtle is much larger than the humans.

For example, at 18 seconds into the clip, a person can be seen approaching the creature, showing how the perspective of the turtle’s size can change depending on the objects that surround it.

(X/@TarotYouuuu)

Despite its enormous size, the endangered leatherback turtle is a “gentle” giant of the sea. These turtles can be found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans and nest in tropical latitudes around the world, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The leather carapace got its name due to the unique leather shell. The shell consists of “a layer of thin, tough, rubbery skin reinforced by thousands of tiny bony plates.” Protection of sea turtles said This is the only such sea turtle does not have a hard shell.

Snopes debunked other widely circulated images whose subjects were accentuated by forced perspective, including the strange “hammer bat“and a photo of an abnormally small one former US President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter sit next to President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.

Sources:

Christi, Mailing Address: PO Box 181300 Corpus, and TX 78480 Phone:949-8068 Malaquite Visitor Center Information line Contact us. Leatherback sea turtle – Padre Island National Seashore (US National Park Service). https://www.nps.gov/pais/learn/nature/leatherback.htm. Accessed on October 30. 2024

Dapcevich, Madison. “Does the photo show the true size of a bear’s paw compared to a human’s?” Snopes, September 16, 2024 https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/bear-paw-size-photo-human/.

Avon, Dan. “Does this video show an abnormally large leatherback turtle?” Snopes, August 15, 2018. https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/large-leatherback-turtle-video/.

Avon, Dan. “Is this Bull Frog Monster real?” Snopes, May 26, 2017. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/monster-bullfrog/.

—. “Is the hammer bat a real animal?” Snopes, July 30, 2018. https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/hammerhead-bat/.

—. “Why do the Bidens look gigantic in the picture with the Carters?” Snopes, May 4, 2021 https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/bidens-photo-carters/.

Forced perspective Article | Snopes.Com. https://www.snopes.com/tag/forced-perspective/. Accessed on October 30. 2024

Home | Pacific environment. https://www.sprep.org/. Accessed on October 30. 2024

Sea Turtle Information: Leatherback Sea Turtle – Sea Turtle Sanctuary. https://conserveturtles.org/information-about-sea-turtles-leatherback-sea-turtle/. Accessed on October 30. 2024

Karen Baird | Pacific environment. https://www.sprep.org/team-member/strategic-policy-and-technical-programmes/karen-baird. Accessed on October 30. 2024

Caribbean “Nature is the greatest miracle! It’s time to take care of her!!!” Instagram, April 20, 2024 https://www.instagram.com/karibnyaralas/reel/C5-EZt3of2I/.

“Leather Tortoise”. Fishing.NOAA, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/leatherback-turtle.

mikesudi16. “Unbelievable!” Instagram, April 29, 2024 https://www.instagram.com/bviral/reel/C6WZC9gO3KM/.

“What is the largest sea turtle?” OceanService.NOAA, https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/leatherback.html.

Vrona, Oleksandra. “Deceptive Photo Trick Examples: Forced Perspective.” Snopes, May 22, 2023 https://www.snopes.com//list/forced-perspective/.