A Sri Lankan YouTuber with the name ‘Chika Boy’ posted a series of videos where he saves local turtles from barnacles before sending them back in their habitat. In the video below you can see that he is carefully shaving off the barnacles that are on the turtle’s shell with a knife. After he is done, he takes the turtle back to the ocean and let it go where it wants to.
He explains, “Barnacles make a turtle inactive, impact its vision, make eating difficult, and sometimes lead to infection. Excessive barnacles on a turtle’s shell are a sign of bad health. Excessive barnacles are an indicator of a slow and inactive turtle. The overloading of barnacles will prevent the turtle from moving and swimming properly. Then the turtle will become slower than usual because of the increased weight on the turtle’s shell, it will find it difficult to search for food. Also, if the barnacles are attached near the turtle’s eyes, its vision will get impacted. Barnacles attached near the mouth of the turtle are also harmful. The turtle will not be able to eat properly due to excessive barnacles.”
