Wildlife rescue workers in Florida have discovered a common sandwich ingredient is perfect for cleaning toxic crude from the skin of oiled sea turtles.
Just days ago, government officials announced that the BP well responsible for the worst oil spill in American history is finally dead. Unfortunately, the crisis has only just begun for wildlife that lives in and around the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
The staff at The Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida are still seeing new oiled turtles come in from areas affected by the spill, and they are using an easy-to-get, safe, and effective kitchen condiment to save their lives...
Mayonnaise.
Inevitably, turtles get into the oily tar and end up with a nasty, often deadly coating. To clean the turtles, mayonnaise “works really well,” Ryan Butts, administrator of The Turtle Hospital told the National Wildlife Federation.
As of August 13th, 525 dead sea turtles have been collected in the Gulf. Most of these died as a result of direct contact with the oil, while others became caught in booms or skimmers designed to clean up the spill (Independent).
After watching the weather forecasts and ocean currents for more than two months, ocean experts now believe that the delicate ecosystems of the Florida Keys will be spared from the impacts of the spill, but that doesn't mean the turtle-loving volunteers will get a break any time soon.
Scientists are warning that large masses of oil found that have settled on the ocean floor and large plumes still permeating the deep water could threaten future turtle populations in the Gulf and South Florida waters.
Sargassum is an amber-colored variety of floating seaweed that provides food and shelter for sea turtles, as well as shrimp, crabs, and thousands of varieties of fish. Unfortunately, sargassum fields in the Gulf are also perfect for trapping floating oil that can be as thick as Hershey's syrup.
With oil saturation of some sargassum mats already confirmed, rescue workers fear that a whole generation of sea turtles could be at risk.
Image Credit: Flickr - DeepwaterHorizonResponse
Follow Beth Buczynski on Twitter: 
I’m a mayonnaise enthusiast and a staunch advocate of the life-saving power of mayonnaise. Mayonnaise saved the lives of Jewish children from the Nazis during World War II. Now mayonnaise is saving hundreds of sea turtles from a crude black death. Did you know mayonnaise is the world’s most powerful shock absorber? Well, it is!
In a recent study, airbags were shown to be associated with a slightly increased probability of death in automobile accidents. Each year there are numerous deaths attributed to air bag deployments, mainly to children and adults of small stature (carnies!). If we replaced airbags in automobiles with quick deploying mayonnaise we could save countless lives each year. Even if an automobile accident victim becomes completely submerged in mayonnaise, she can always eat her way out. The research was funded by a grant from The Wiggly School.
I recently wrote to my Congressman explaining in lurid detail the science behind the use of mayonnaise as a safety goo. Write your Congressman today and demand that Congress take action implementing the replacement of airbags with mayonnaise immediately.
Mayonnaise: Is there anything it can’t do?
That’s awesome that they’ve found a practical use for mayo… Ever since I worked at a sub shop, I can’t even think about mayo without losing my appetite. Yuck.
I wonder if Veganaise would work as well!
Great article. The founders (Carter age 9.5 and his sister Olivia age-8) of One More Generation (OMG) were just down in New Orleans delivering badly needed supplies to the Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Rescue Center. These two amazing kids had been collecting the supplies since the oil spill happened. We got to see first hand how these very same items were helping the over 142 oiled sea turtles.
Thanks for the great report. If you are interested, you might want to check out OMG’s website (www.onemoregeneration.org) and see what these two amazing elementary students are accomplishing. Who knows, you may even decide to do a story on them.
Thanks again and we look forward to more of your work.
So they’re using the existing oil-water suspension made possible by the power of the lecithin in egg yolks to remove oil?
Makes sense. Why not just bathe them in egg yolks though?