A distressing real‑time rescue in which marine biologists remove a plastic fork from an olive ridley sea turtle’s nose, revealing the consequences of oceanic plastic pollution.

Filmed during a research project in Costa Rica, this widely viewed video captures marine biologist Dr Nathan J. Robinson and the Leatherback Trust team removing a plastic fork lodged deep inside the nostril of an olive ridley sea turtle. The close‑up rescue highlights both the immediate harm caused by single‑use plastics and the delicate fieldwork required to treat affected marine animals.

This footage follows Robinson’s earlier involvement in the similarly viral “sea turtle with a straw in its nostril” video, which amassed millions of views worldwide and inspired a wave of public outrage over ocean plastics. Both YouTube videos played a key role in drawing global attention to the issue and helped to catalyse discussions that led to plastic‑straw bans in several countries.

The turtle’s struggle as the fork is removed makes the impact of plastic pollution painfully clear, offering a first‑hand glimpse of suffering that statistics alone can’t convey, and shows why such footage continues to spark global outrage online.

While on a research project in Costa Rica, Nathan J. Robinson ‪@DrNathanRobinson‬ and the Leatherback Trust team rescued an olive ridley sea turtle that had a plastic fork stuck in its nose. Lamentably, this is a consequence of a world of single-use, non-biodegradable plastic.

There is a solution and it lies in our own decisions. Please say no to all single-use plastic. Every plastic straw, plastic bag, or plastic bottle that ends up in the oceans could mean the difference between life or death for any number of marine animals.

The choice is easy. There are sustainable alternatives to single-use plastics. Canvas bags can replace plastic bags, bamboo cutlery can replace plastic cutlery. Please be part of the movement away from single use plastics.- Description on YouTube