Turtle Rescue – Massive Barnacle Removal

What is that? At first sight, its hard to tell exactly what kind of sea creature this could be. However, upon further observation its is clearly seen that it is a turtle laden with more than its own weight in barnacles.

Its hard to imagine how this little turtle was able to survive with such a massive mass of barnacles attached to it. It kind of makes you wonder about barnacles and how pernicious they can be.

It also makes you wonder about how nature’s beauty can be counterbalanced by what we term “survival of the fittest”.

Watch the clip below. It shows how difficult this turtle rescue was.

It seems that turtles have more problems with barnacles than I am sure most of us imagined. Who knew?

The following video clip is a compilation of barnacle removals from turtles. Notice how difficult they are are to remove.

Turtle Rescue – Barnacle Removals

Barnacles, although seemingly hazardous to turtles, really isn’t as hazardous as we would think. That is, unless there is an excessive amounts. Furthermore it can be considered illegal to remove barnacles from turtles as pointed out in the following article on petdt.com

Images Source: YouTube Clips, 2

Barnacles are part of the crustacean family that likes to attach to hard surfaces when they’re in their larvae stage. One of these hard surfaces is turtle shells.

Generally, barnacle larvae are not harmful to turtles, and can actually be quite helpful for turtle camouflage and the study of them.

However, excessive barnacles can cause issues, such as sluggishness, starvation, exhaustion, infection, and in extreme cases, death.

If you see a sea turtle with excessive barnacle cover it is important not to try and remove them yourself. This can cause great harm to sea turtles. It can damage their shells, and cause infection if their open wounds are not properly treated.

H/T – petdt.com

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