A surfer named Edden Ram and his friends came across a sight this past summer that is still making the rounds on social media today – a tiny sea turtle, caught in human trash and fighting to survive.

The sweet sea turtle was clearly scared, both of whatever he was stuck in and of the people trying to save his life. He thrashed against his rescuers, flashing his terrified eyes for the camera.

The trash, whatever it was, was stuck to the little guy pretty tightly, and it seemed to take forever to even get close to freeing him … but the good Samaritans never gave up.

Finally, after relentless winding and untangling, the little guy was finally freed from his trash prison, and given a second chance at life.

This sea turtle never would have been in danger in the first place if it weren’t for us. The trash that people throw into the ocean and don’t think twice about ends up stuck on unsuspecting marine animals, putting their lives in serious danger.

This isn’t the first time something like this has happened, and it certainly won’t be the last unless we take steps to help, such as reducing the amount of plastic we use.

Thanks to these diligent beach goers, at least one animal has been saved from our mistakes, and hopefully will help raise awareness to stop this kind of thing from happening in the future.

Check out the full video of the sea turtle’s rescue below: