Shocked Blue Planet Live viewers watch seagull snatch baby turtle live on air

Liz Bonnin, Chris Packham and Steve Backshall have presented live from various stunning and occasionally underwater locations across the globe for Blue Planet Live.

But the series' concluding episode was an example of the pitfalls of live television, after a seagull snatched up one of six baby turtles that Bonnin was helping to release into the sea.

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"They’re going to spend at least 100 years in our oceans if all goes well," Bonnin said as the hatchlings made their way to the sea — only for a seagull to swoop down and grab one of the baby turtles, as the camera quickly switched perspective.

Viewers were left in shock, with one posting that they couldn't "stop thinking about that little baby turtle and the seagull".

"Did a seagull just eat a baby turtle live on TV?!," one viewer asked.

But while viewers were left heartbroken by the seagull's surprise attack, Bonnin took to Twitter to point out that, though "hard to watch," it comes down to survival of the fittest.

Responding to a viewer's tweet, Bonnin wrote: "These hatchlings are part of the food web here and the silver gulls need to feed their newborn chicks too.

"Hard to watch," she added, "but we can’t do anything about it."