A young green sea turtle has been given a second chance after being found stranded along North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras National Seashore, covered in a staggering layer of barnacles, algae and other marine organisms.
The vulnerable turtle was discovered along the shoreline before the seashore’s Resource Management team transported her to the Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation (STAR) Center at the North Carolina Aquarium on April 15.
What rescuers found was alarming.
During her examination, the rehabilitation team began carefully removing the heavy coating of epibiota — aquatic organisms that had accumulated across her body and shell. When she first arrived, the young turtle weighed around 3.5 kilograms.
But after the unwanted buildup was painstakingly removed, her weight fell to just 2.8 kilograms.
That means more than 1.5 kilograms of barnacles, algae and other material had been cleared from her body — an extraordinary amount for such a young sea turtle.
The buildup can make it harder for a sea turtle to move normally through the water, adding considerable weight and drag to an already vulnerable animal.
Thankfully, the story is now taking a more hopeful turn.
The turtle is continuing to receive care at the rehabilitation center and is making steady progress toward recovery.
After being weighed down by hundreds of marine organisms, she can finally begin the journey back toward the ocean — one small step at a time.