Miguel Angel Escobar and his family were just sailing off the coast of Honduras when they noticed something that instantly crushed their hearts.

They saw a large sea turtle entangled in some tree roots close to the water’s edge there, along a desolate section of shore.

According to Escobar, “I feared she was dead,” The Dodo. “We were really sorry for her.”

But the turtle wasn’t actually gone. She had recently given up.

Though the turtle appeared to have been trapped there for some time, and likely had perished, Escobar decided to take a closer look anyway — just in case.

She remained motionless as he pulled the boat to shore and approached.

“When I touched her, she instantly let out a sigh and she started to move her head,” Escobar said.

And with that, Escobar sprang into action.

Using a knife, Escobar began cutting the root trapping the turtle until it was weak enough to be broken.

After a few moments, she was finally free.

Escobar had saved her life.

The turtle, which had before appeared to be dead, instantly changed into a ball of energy.

Escobar stated, “I believed that the turtle would need to rest on the shore and regain her vitality. But she immediately swam away, powerful and quickly, like someone who was jubilant.

She was given another opportunity. The turtle briefly lingered on the beach before swimming off to deeper seas.

Escobar suspects that the turtle had gotten trapped after coming ashore to lay her eggs, becoming entangled in the root while passing over the embankment along the shore. And now that she is free, there will be even more generations of her offspring to come.

“I feel happy to have helped her,” Escobar said. “It’s a great feeling.”