Woman astounded after capturing footage of massive ocean creature: 'It was beyond a size that I could actually comprehend'

A British Columbia nurse and her colleague were graced with the presence of a rare sea turtle while fishing from a boat off the coast of Haida Gwaii.

As CHEKNews.ca reported, they successfully captured footage of an encounter with a leatherback sea turtle — the largest of all sea turtle species, which is also critically endangered.

On July 14, Victoria Bradshaw and her colleague, Aidan Horne, took to the water off the coast of Haida Gwaii, near Langara Island and about 50 miles from the Alaskan border. Just as soon as they had started to fish, they noticed a large creature off in the distance.

Initially, they thought it could have been a whale or a similar-sized creature surfacing for air. However, observing the creature's swim pattern and using a phone to zoom in, Horne realized they were looking at a leatherback turtle.

They cut the boat's power to avoid scaring the turtle away and filmed the turtle from a distance.

"It was beyond a size that I could actually comprehend," Bradshaw said, per CHEKNews.ca.

Leatherback sea turtles are the largest living sea turtle species, with adults measuring, on average, between five and six feet and weighing between 750 and 1,000 pounds, according to NOAA Fisheries, but they are typically found in warmer waters.

They can be found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, feeding primarily on jellyfish and salps, per the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee.

In British Columbia waters, sightings of leatherback turtles are very rare, with only 149 unique sightings of 151 leatherback turtles since 1931, according to data from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, per the Marine Education and Research Society.

Bradshaw and Horne's leatherback turtle sighting in July is the first verified sighting of 2025, making this an extremely special encounter.

Footage shows a relaxed sea turtle dipping its head into the water and surfacing every so often. The turtle appeared to be healthy, uninjured, and calm, just enjoying the water and the plentiful jellyfish nearby.

"They don't necessarily spend a lot of time at the surface, from my understanding now, and so we're kind of lucky to get that imagery," Bradshaw said, per CHEKNews.ca.

Sightings of critically endangered species become increasingly rare as their population numbers fall over time. Technologies like trail cameras enable experts to assess species population health without disturbing creatures in their habitats. This data can inform endangered species conservation efforts while documenting rare encounters.

Trail cameras in Malaysia's Tangkulap Forest Reserve set up to monitor an endangered wildcat species accidentally captured a rare sighting of a Eurasian otter — a species that had not been seen in the area in over a decade.

In Somerset, South England, trail cameras in a habitat rehabilitation zone between Frome and Bruton captured a rare baby beaver, indicating a successful restoration effort.

If you happen to chance upon critically endangered species in action, like Bradshaw and Horne, document the encounter from a distance and report details of the sighting to local conservation groups or the appropriate authorities.

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