Just think of it as a marine species version of a spa day.
On an unspecified coast, a team approached a turtle that seemed to be stranded on the beach. It just lay motionless as the waves softly crashed in front of it.
It wasn’t specified how long it was staying here or its overall condition but judging by the shell, they know it needed some help.
Over the turtle’s shell is an entire colony of barnacles.
The parasitic marine lifeforms covered the shell together with some green marine moss. With the size of the colony, it can be suspected that the turtle has been inactive for quite some time.
Barnacles such as these embed themselves on surfaces by secreting a fast curing glue that enables them to latch onto surfaces.
It is considered one of the strongest naturally occurring glues in the world and companies are trying to see if it can be produced commercially.
However, they pose a threat to other creatures like turtles and whales.
As the colonies grow, they provide additional drag to ships, whales, and turtles. This can make turtles less agile or less efficient when swimming and can drain them of energy.
Same as with ships, carriers burn more fuel if their hulls are lined with colonies of barnacles. Sometimes, they can also bore into the skin of their host which can introduce a myriad of sources of infection.
They picked the turtle from the shore and took it with them.
Then, they carefully scraped off the colonies one by one. You can see the rescuer peel off an entire colony like it was a sheet of moss.
In another clip, they cleared out the freeloading passengers off a turtle’s back and gave it a good scrubbing. Using a brush, they scrubbed off other things that attached to the turtle – various debris and unrelated growth. The turtle seemed to enjoy the spa treatment on its scales.
The process was satisfying as well as you can see the stark difference between barnacle-infested shells compared to freshly cleaned ones. You can also see the turtle moving much more actively.
When the spa service was done, they released the turtle back to the sea where it swam gracefully once more.
In the same video, they also showed another barnacle extraction process.
They rescued a green sea turtle with an acorn barnacle sitting squarely on top of its head. Acorn barnacles are the most common ones that can be seen on pier surfaces, ship hulls, or whale skins.
Using a knife, they carefully scraped off the underside of the barnacle to remove it. They also cleaned off the barnacle’s adhesive to make sure that the turtle was squeaky clean.
Commenters loved the people who cleaned the turtles.
“Any person that helps an animal in distress, wild or domestic, not only deserves but commands respect,” said one commenter.
“When I see people doing these kinds of acts of kindness, it renews my hope in humanity.” Another one also said, “We are all so polarized and disconnected. It’s nice that we can all come together here and share our love for animals.”
Watch how this turtle got a much-needed spa day.
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