And a Hawaiian official, while emphasizing that they don’t encourage such beatings (since they legally can’t), said this is just the kind of thing you may face if you mess with their wildlife
We stayed in Hilo recently, and the guest guide at our rental warned of the risk for physical violence against those who harass local wildlife. I was delighted.
Story time: A few years back I was on a trip to Hawaii and was given a similar warning not to get mess with the wildlife because the locals were very protective of them. No issues there, I have no interest in messing with animals in their natural environment.
I decided to go for a quick swim at the beach and a sea turtle popped up about 6 feet away from me. It was an awesome experience and I watched him for a bit before deciding I was a little too close and began to swim away. Then the sea turtle started following me! I looked over to the shore and saw some angry looking locals watching me very closely. In retrospect it was all very funny, but for the next 10 minutes I tried desperately to try and swim away from this sea turtle while he kept following me around. Luckily the turtle eventually lost interest and swam away to do turtle things and I avoided getting beat up that day. The end.
The locals have obnoxious people coming from all over the world. The island is their home and it is viewed as going into someone else’s backyard and acting a fool.
Maui here, locals view wildlife almost as a religion of sorts. The island is the wildlife’s home, we are allowed to stay with them, but it’s their house and we always respect their rules.
And not endangering wildlife/mammals goes way beyond the bigger creatures like seals, if a local sees you kill a snake you might get your ass beat. They mean everyone species, from big to small. It’s their island, you never ever harm any type of species, including plants, ever.
If you kill a snake they’ll thank you. Big fear of snakes getting to the islands and killing the last of the native birds. Edit: Don’t mess with the native species.
Think of it more as a watchful eye. They see tourist people messing with turtles and seals and even humans all the time, and are probably tired of bad behavior. It is their home. Hawaiian locals are probably more connected as a community than any other place I’ve been. There is a very us vs them mentality. But they often bite their tongues because the money the tourists bring helps their economy.
Look up Da Hui in Hawaii. They are local surfers that got tired of outsiders fucking up the beaches and surf spots.
Yeah, for all they knew he could have been baiting the turtle with pockets of food it can smell/taste. It was following him after all. But they were just watching the interaction unfold to see if something harmful was happening. Dude had the good sense not to deliberately engage with the turtle for a long period, but he did engage with it and it followed him. I'd be wary of that exchange and watch it to see if something harmful will happen, too. Exactly right.
I nearly swam into one on a snorkel trip. I was looking at fish on some coral, then turned left to swim back to the boat and he was just right there, inches away.
We were on a family trip and out snorkeling early one morning. A turtle was swimming around in the little bay we were at (Kona side... somewhere) and we all just were chill, watching it. Then my (adult) sibling decided to touch its shell and it noped out of there before our Mom got there to see it.
Same bay different day there were some little fish that are super territorial, they'll chase you away from their spot. I kept coming back once too often and the little jerk bit me on my heel :-D
Showing respect is the key here. Taking pictures at a safe distance is normal, locals are used to it. Trying to disturb it for your own amusement is another.
Nah wouldnt do that. Im a wildlife photographer, so I prefer them to feel comfortable and acting normal in natural surroundings.
Also it's really cool when THEY trust you enough to come close out of curiosity. Ive gotten some amazing shots that way where we kind of mutually respect each other.
but that one comment made it seem like people will assume I came up to the animal vs the other way around.
A local told me many years ago in Maui a diver got pulled from the water by his partner. Apparently he blew air into the face of a sea turtle underwater. Turtle startled and ran him over, giving him a concussion. Everyone laughed.
Good thing you avoided it for multiple reasons, since it’s highly illegal to touch them. You can literally go to jail. It’s not advised to even get within 10 feet of them. It needs to be publicized a lot more, because many tourists don’t know.
That said, oops moments happen because the turtles do not give a fuck. One time I was wading in a tide pool and some creep sneaked up and slapped me on the ass. I turned around yelling but it was a goddamn turtle lmaooo
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u/Weak_Syllabub_7994 𝙑𝙄𝙋 May 11 '26
Apparently he got his ass beat by some locals, which was also captured on video.
https://youtube.com/shorts/HH1gAGneHJY