JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An enormous leatherback turtle, which witnesses guessed to be between 500 and 1,000 pounds, washed up on the shore of Hanna Park beach in Jacksonville early Sunday morning.
Leatherbacks are the largest species of turtle in the world and have existed in the same form since the age of dinosaurs, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They are an endangered protected species.
The turtle was already dead when it was beached on the sand, Albert Emma, a local surfer said.
Leatherbacks are endangered, and according to the World Wide Fund for Nature,
Lesley Curry, who was also on the scene, said that Turtle Patrol responded to the scene by about 7 a.m. Officials told him it's rare for a leatherback turtle to be seen in this area and it was likely adrift for awhile and washed in.
Emma has been surfing in Jacksonville for over 35 years, but he'd "never seen anything like that."
"You'll never see that again, a turtle of that size," he said. He's seen turtles before, but they were always much smaller.
Emma says that at first, staff and beachgoers tried to lift the turtle out of the water on their own, but it was too heavy.
The Hanna Park staff brought a backhoe to remove the turtle from the water. It took four grown men to lift it enough to scoop up.
“I almost felt honored to help and kind of instruct there and get it taken care of. It’s sad, but it’s part of life. For somebody that’s been connected to the ocean his whole life, it’s almost an honor to get that massive, beautiful thing onto the shore," Emma said.
The turtle did not appear to have any abrasions or have been injured by propellers.
