When Syrena was found, she was carrying a burden that had slowly taken over her body.
The green sea turtle was covered in a heavy layer of barnacles, algae and other organisms known as epibiota. More than 1.5 pounds of the unwanted growth was eventually removed from her body—a staggering weight for a turtle already struggling to survive.
At the aquarium, the rehabilitation team immediately began working to save her. Syrena received fluids, vitamins and antibiotics while rescuers carefully cleaned away the organisms covering her shell and body.
But removing the barnacles was far from simple.
Pulling them off too quickly or incorrectly could cause additional injuries, so the work had to be done slowly and carefully. For 92 days, her rescuers continued giving Syrena the treatment and attention she needed.
With every carefully removed barnacle, she appeared to become more comfortable. Slowly, the exhausted turtle began to regain her strength.
Eventually, Syrena became active enough to eat on her own—a major milestone after everything her body had endured.
What had once weighed her down was finally disappearing, one piece at a time.
And after 92 days of rehabilitation, Syrena was no longer the helpless turtle rescuers had first encountered. She was beginning to look like herself again.