What This Turtle’s GoPro Revealed Left Scientists Speechless—You Won’t Believe What They Discovered!

You ever think about why scientists team up with critters? Usually, it’s all about new medicines and vaccines—your typical lab rats situation. But here’s a curveball: turtles, yeah, slow-moving shelled turtles, are now front-row heroes in the battle to save one of the most jaw-dropping natural wonders on Earth—the Great Barrier Reef. These ancient mariners aren’t just cruising for fun; outfitted with GoPros, they’re diving deep into the reef’s mysteries, helping us figure out just how bad climate change has messed with this colossal underwater masterpiece stretching over 1,400 miles. It’s a wild shift from petri dishes to turtle shells, and honestly, it makes you wonder—can these wise old turtles help us rewrite the future for the reef before it’s too late?LEARN MORE

Scientists have long used animals to help them make new discoveries. Most commonly, animals have been used to help identify new vaccines and medicines, but now, turtles are being used in a completely unique way, and this time to help Mother Nature.

This time turtles have been used to help study and understand the impact climate change is having on the Great Barrier Reef, a large coral system in Australia.

What is the Great Barrier Reef?

The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system and one of the most impressive natural wonders. Stretching out over 1,429 miles, and including more than 2,900 individual reefs, it’s certainly one of the most impressive natural sights the world has to offer – which is why it must be protected.

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest single structure made by living organisms, and is so big that it’s visible from space.

The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from space (Getty Stock Images)

Why are turtles being used?

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) are attempting to tackle the mammoth task of trying to protect the Great Barrier Reef.

To do this, they have teamed up with turtles, strapping GoPros to their shells in order to get a better look at the coral reefs and understand what’s going on with them.

Over the years, the reef’s population has started to decline due to pollution and global warming. WWF are hoping to put the pressure back on the Australian government to do more to protect this natural wonder.

Why is the Great Barrier Reef dying?

It’s well known that the The Great Barrier Reef is in danger of dying out. Over the years, as global temperatures continue to rise, so too does the sea temperature, which is starting to have a knock-on effect on the reefs.

As corals grow, they form bands, much like you would see in trees. These bands contain chemical signatures, which have been used to identify heat-related stress to the reefs.

When the water temperature gets too hot, corals release an algae that gives them nutrients and colour – an event known as bleaching.

Could turtles help save the reef? (WWF)

While corals can survive bleaching, if they continue to face stress from heat, it can cause them to die out completely. So far, there have been four recorded bleaching events, with the last one taking place just last year, which saw record high temperatures in the water surrounding the Great Barrier Reef.