Piers Morgan blames Blue Planet producers after seagull abducts turtle on camera

1 April 2019, 15:38 | Updated: 1 April 2019, 15:50

After their eggs hatch on the sand, the turtles make their way to the ocean but only 1 in 1,000 survive to adulthood

Piers Morgan has blamed Blue Planet producers for not rescuing a baby turtle that was abducted by a hungry seagull.

Viewers of Sunday night's Blue Planet Live episode were gobsmacked after spotting the unfortunate animal encounter, with the Good Morning Britain team dissecting the clip this morning.

As the baby turtle crawled the short distance towards the ocean, a seagull swooped in and picked up the turtle with its beak before making a speedy escape.

Piers ranted: "When they said 100 years, it wasn't even five seconds. And when you talk about responsibility, what about keeping an on the damn things to stop a seagull grabbing it."

Susanna Reid defended the cast and crew of the nature show, telling her co-host: "Don't forget, they're not actually allowed to intervene in the natural course of nature."

Piers shot back: "Yeah, but you could at least have to put them in the water."

Turtles lay their eggs on the beach, with the babies taking 60 days to hatch. They then have the difficult task of safely navigating their way across the sand and into the ocean.

Only one in a thousand baby turtles survive due to either dehydration while out of the water, or being attacked by predators including birds and crabs.