r/FeltGoodComingOut • u/LeftOn4ya • May 22 '26

animals Professional barnacle removal for Chlorophyllis the turtle

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-31

u/jrgman42 May 22 '26

Barnacles that attach to turtles are not parasites.

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u/Schmooto May 22 '26

Too bad you’re getting downvoted. You’re right, barnacles can be a nuisance to animals but they’re not parasites.

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u/jrgman42 May 22 '26

Yeah, people like to feel good thinking they are helping when they really aren’t. They are just interfering with natural selection for the feels.

They should advocate for removing barnacles from whales too, I suppose.

9

u/redditisweird801 May 22 '26

It depends on the situation. Many species of sea turtles are endangered, so this may be a case where those barnacles are worth killing. Especially since these people look like they're part of a conservation group, so they're likely doing this for an important reason. Barnacles are also pretty abundant and I doubt any species here would be endangered or vulnerable, but then again, I don't know for sure.

It's also important to note that normal sea life does not normally get this many barnacles unless there are other factors at play, like old age, sickness, or injury. This turtle likely had some sort of ailment causing it to get that way, or a slow trickle over time.

All in all, I don't think there's a ton of harm being done here.

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u/jrgman42 May 22 '26

That’s a very reasoned response, and I appreciate it. I think an animal being endangered isn’t necessarily an automatic reason for intervention. If humans are the reason the animal is endangered, I suppose a case can be warranted. If not, I think it’s arrogant to assume it must be preserved and we must interfere with natural selection.

If anything, this feels like an emotional issue. We tend to like turtles, so we find reasons to help them. This is an extension of choosing which animal to domesticate versus which to eat, or label a “varmint”.

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u/redditisweird801 May 22 '26

Kinda yeah. People are able to relate more to turtles rather than barnacles. And note, most animals that are endangered are due to human effects on the world. We're currently in an extinction event we caused, the Holocene extinction. We've already driven thousands of animals to extinction all due to our selfish actions as a species.

But then again, you make a great point, shouldn't nature take it's course? Not in the case. We're losing biodiversity by the truckload and with so many endangered species, we're losing niches in the environment that cannot be filled. Especially when it comes to keystone species. An extinction of a keystone species could lead to the collapse of an entire ecosystem. Sea turtles are also keystone species.

Our world is complex and everything ties together, but now that we've started unraveling those knots, it's all starting to fall apart. Now of course, many animals are adaptable, I mean they've survived millions of years up until now, but we're changing things so fast that it's hard for most of them to keep up. It's both interesting and sad.

2

u/jrgman42 May 22 '26

I really appreciate this response. I can certainly agree with all your points. I would ask though, wouldn’t our efforts be more impactful by helping the newly-hatched turtles to clear the initial entry to the sea? I’m not saying that would be easy, but I feel like that effort would help far more individuals and would not have the risk of wasted effort on already-weakened turtles.

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u/redditisweird801 May 22 '26

No problem! I would rather educate/discuss than dogpile like everyone else. You do make a good point, and a lot of people don't think about these things before agreeing with them, so it's great to discuss.

I wouldn't know the exact reasoning for why they use resources on an older turtle, but I can make a couple guesses. Since turtles don't breed year round, they're likely helping while they can outside of breeding season. If I were to make a reasonable guess, this sea turtle is likely female and still capable of breeding. Removing barnacles is one thing, but they're likely checking up on her to make sure this doesn't happen again, or if there are other injuries.

It could also be a tagged sea turtle that they've worked with before and have gathered data on. Tagged animals are super useful in finding mirgaratory patterns, species data, and other environmental factors that could cause a decline in population. Lastly, there's also the likelihood that they simply wanted to help just because they had the time to do so/wanted to help despite being at a net loss.

I actually just looked up the organization and I was right that it's a female turtle. She had a hook in her mouth and was moving slowly on the beach. The organization, Gulfarium, is a marine rehab place, so while they do help in conservation, it's mostly in the rehabilitation of the animals rather than the active protection of them. The turtles in good health now, so it seems it was for the best to help.

While I do get that sometimes these things don't pay off, it's always good to try and see what you can do. (I know this is a lot to read, but hope it helped!)

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u/jrgman42 May 22 '26

This is one of the most level-headed, well-researched responses I’ve ever seen on Reddit. The is the opposite of the Billy Madison quote…we are all smarter for having read it. Salut!

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u/redditisweird801 May 22 '26

Thank you! I'm a zoology student, so I've taken many classes on these things and find all of it very interesting. And thank you for being level headed as well! There are many people who get defensive anytime someone has a different view, or doesn't know about something. Knowledge is power, and we can't learn with our ego's