ARANSAS PASS, Texas — While honey is known for its sweet taste, some might not have known that the substance has healing properties as well.
In Port Aransas, The Amos Rehabilitation Keep (ARK) is using the sticky substance in its efforts to nurse sick sea turtles back to health. Dr. Shayna Whitaker is one of the veterinarians who uses the all natural sweet substance to treat injured sea turtles like Olaf.
"So, when we have wounds, we use it as a topical treatment," Whitaker said. "We use it because it has antimicrobial properties, and it has antibacterial properties."
Whitaker said that Olaf has benefited greatly from the honey treatment.
"We are hoping that within 15 or 20 minutes time, but it does have some of the effects that we’re hoping for," Whitaker said.
While it does seem strange that honey is being used to treat the injured sea turtles, Whitaker said that there’s been studies showing that the treatments work.
"There’s many different studies where they’ve actually gone ahead and they studied out that it does work with the sea turtles, and that the wounds are healing," Whitaker said.
The rehab center gets the honey from the nearby Fennessey Ranch in Bayside Texas. Program Coordinator Alicia Walker said they first began using the honey treatments some five years ago.
The ARK has been spending quite a bit of money each year on buying raw honey before the ranch stepped in to help out.
"One year we spent about $600 in raw honey," Walker said. "And so now we’re not spending anything because of this partnership with the Fennessey Ranch.”
The partnership helps the ARK rehab nurse the sea turtles back to good health. They believe that the honey is ensuring that there’s a sweet ending to most of the cases.
More from 3News on KIIITV.com:
- Jury awards family of drunk driving victims more than $301 billion after suspect was overserved at Corpus Christi bar
- 'Crime Stoppers tip' leads to seizure of 24 marijuana plants, two arrested
- Operation Heat Help: Qualified residents can get up to $100 credit a month on natural gas bill this winter
- Texas A&M University-Kingsville professor explains redistricting lawsuit filed against Texas
- Woman arrested after pulling gun, threatening to shoot others over parking spot, police say
Want to send us a news tip?
Put your name and contact information below so we can get in touch with you about your story should we have questions or need more information. We realize some stories are sensitive in nature. Let us know if you'd like to remain anonymous.
If you do not have a photo/video to submit, just click "OK" to skip that prompt.