A crowd than gathered around the defenseless animal to take selfies, and one person placed a child right on top of it. Afterward the turtle was observed being beaten with a stick.


Fortunately, there were some decent people around - when two passersby noticed what was happening to the turtle, they took it to a safe place and contacted the environmental organization GreenArea International to arrange a rescue.


Jason Mier, executive director of Animals Lebanon, told The Dodo, "We were not present when the turtle came to shore and have to rely on pictures and accounts of people who were present. Luckily, other people were there who did care and stopped this and helped get the turtle to a safe area."

Sadly, Mier also said that the turtle had been hit so hard that he had a very "evident spot on his skull," with a noticeable depression in the head where the bone has been damaged and sea water is able to enter the bone.

"A small amount of pressure around this area and the water seeps back out," he added.


The Dodo also reported that the group "took on the responsibility of providing the veterinary care the turtle needed to hopefully get him returned to the ocean soon.

Vets are said to be reassessing the turtle's health in 15 days once the course of antibiotics has finished.

Source