Box turtles aren't meant to climb trees or to fly -- and definitely are not meant to be taped to balloons and released into what would almost certainly have ended in death if not for the sharp eyes of an animal lover.

Chanelle Wright of Oceanside, Calif., discovered the turtle taped to the green and blue balloons Sunday, and immediately called the Humane Society.

“We look up and there are green and blue balloons up there,” Wright told ABC News affiliate 10 News. “He was just swinging his arms trying to get out of it. Somebody had taped him to the balloons.”

Wright rang up the Humane Society, who sent the fire department an hour later to try to free the turtle. But just as the fire officials were about to cut the turtle loose, a gust of wind blew it safely down to earth.

A Humane Society employee on the scene said it was a box turtle.

Joel Rabago, another Oceanside resident, said his mother began to film the turtle’s plight. “When something like this happens, she always takes the video camera, no matter what it is,” Rabago told 10 News.

Rabago said that although the turtle escaped unscathed from its misadventure, he’s still outraged.

“What were you thinking? I mean, a turtle is still life. There’s no reason to be putting him up in a balloon and sending him off,” Rabago said.

Whatever happened to keeping them as pets or observing them in the wild? Charges are waiting for the people who taped the balloons to the animal, and when the investigation is complete, he will have a happy and safe home. To read the full story, click here.