At the river’s mouth, a mini-lake had formed, limiting access to the beach. He explained that the female leatherback had just laid her eggs and had become disoriented.

Pereira, a 17-year-old aspiring marine biologist, guided the turtle back to the sea.

In an email to The Huffington Post, he said, “It felt amazing knowing I had given back something to the ocean that had filled me with so much wonder and admiration.”

Later that day, he met with a turtle environmentalist who informed him that if he hadn’t saved the leatherback, it would have perished in the river.

The leatherback sea turtle is revered by cultures worldwide for its cultural significance. The Seri people of Sonora, Mexico, consider the leatherback sea turtle culturally significant because it is one of their five primary creators.

When a turtle is caught and released back into the wild, the Seri people hold celebrations and feasts in its honor. The Seri people have seen a significant decline in turtle populations over time and have launched a conservation initiative to help. Grupo Tortuguero Comcáac is a group comprised of both teenagers and elders from the tribe. They employ both traditional ecological knowledge and Western technology to assist in controlling turtle numbers and safeguarding the turtle’s natural habitat.