Small sea turtle found with large hitchhiker

A small green sea turtle with a large hitchhiker was rescued last week off Florida’s Port St. Lucie.

 

The turtle was found with a 300 gram Giant Eastern Murex attached to its shell -- a weight equivalent to 13% of the turtle’s own bodyweight, the Inwater Research Group said in this post on Facebook. While many sea turtles have organisms living on their bodies, this was a first for the organization. 

 

“Imagine a full grown man carrying a 20-pound backpack everywhere he went and that’s pretty much this turtle’s story,” the organization added.

 

After the turtle had the mullosk removed from its back, both were returned to the water with the hope they will now go their separate ways.