‘Rare’ dancing sea turtle spotted on the Outer Banks, video shows. What is it doing?

Sea turtles are anything but graceful on land, which makes it all the more surprising one was recorded dancing on North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

The video, shared July 10 on Facebook, shows the turtle rocking from side to side, bouncing its shell off the sand.

Clearly, the turtle thought no one was watching, but a National Park Service employees was standing behind it. (The video was recorded June 23.)

“Unlike other sea turtle species, Kemp’s ridleys nest during the day,” Cape Hatteras National Seashore wrote in the post.

“Kemp’s ridleys have a unique way of covering their eggs. While most sea turtles simply push sand over their nests with their flippers, Kemp’s ridleys take it to the next level. They not only use their flippers but also perform a little side-to-side shuffle on top of the nest. We call it the ‘Kemp’s ridley dance’!”

Kemp’s ridley’s rarely nest at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which explains why the moves aren’t well known on the Outer Banks.

“They are the smallest species of sea turtle, and the most endangered in the world,” the park noted.

Adults reach about 2 feet in length and can weigh as much as 100 pounds, according to NOAA Fisheries. They are primarily found in the Gulf of Mexico, but juveniles are also found in the Atlantic Ocean as far north as Nova Scotia and sometimes even occur in the eastern North Atlantic.

The video had been viewed 245,000 times as of July 12, and gotten more than 4,500 reactions and comments, with some calling it a “dancing turtle.”

“I will never not love the Kemp’s dance! Cracks me up every time,” Ash Katz wrote on the park’s Facebook page.

This story was originally published July 12, 2024 at 2:09 PM with the headline "‘Rare’ dancing sea turtle spotted on the Outer Banks, video shows. What is it doing?."