Turtle Directs Camera's Voyage From Aruba to Keys

Camera lost in Aruba is found in the Keys with video to boot

Sea turtles have the ability to do almost anything in the water, but we didn't known shooting film was one of the reptile's talents.

A man who lost his camera in Aruba is crediting a sea turtle for switching on his waterproof recorder and helping the camera find its way to the Florida Keys.

Dick de Bruin said he lost his camera about six months ago while he was on a boating trip with his family in Aruba. Thought to be lost forever, de Bruin, didn't worry about seeing it again.

But the camera washed up in the Keys and was found by Paul Shultz, a U.S. Coast Guard investigator  who took it upon himself to find the owner. While investigating the contents of the camera, Shultz found a 5-minute video that appeared to be shot by someone in the ocean.

That someone was a something - as in a sea turtle. Scientists said the turtle likely tried to eat the foreign object and accidentally switched it on. The leash got snagged on the turtle's shell and then the video blog began.

Sea Turtle Voyage

The turtle is no James Cameron, but he does a good job with lighting and sound. The video shows the fins and shell of the turtle several times along with a little underwater footage of fish and other sea life.

The camera eventually got free of the turtle, or vice versa, and it was set back on a course to Florida, some 1,100 miles away from where it originally was dropped in the ocean.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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