This Man Makes It His Mission To Save The Local Sea Turtles From Their Suffering (Video)

Sea turtles are now classified as endangered species. Existing threats include pollution, climate change, and human activities such as fisheries bycatch, coastal development, and poaching. While human lifestyle mostly contributes to all of these threats, some of these marine reptiles are also threatened by natural predators such as large sharks, killer whales, and even pelicans. And the peril doesn’t stop there. Barnacle infestation can also put these marine reptiles at risk.

In his YouTube video, Chika Boy revealed how he removed barnacles from the shell of a sea turtle with the use of a cleaver knife. Barnacles can be pried off with other similar tools but you have to be careful to prevent damaging the shell. Barnacles are small sticky crustaceans that thrive by attaching themselves to hard surfaces such as rocks, ships, and sea turtles. These sticky creatures sometimes get etched into the shell and burrow deep beyond the shell's carapace and plastron. Hence, removing them with force can damage the shell and lead to severe injury.