THE TELEGRAM (St. John's, Newfoundland) Dead giant turtle washes up on shore
A mammal belonging to an endangered species washed up dead on Newfoundland shores Tuesday night, but its death is not in vain.
A large adult leatherback sea turtle - the largest reptile in the world - was spotted by squid fisherman Clifford Hiscock in Champney's West, Trinity Bay, while he was checking his lines.
After first believing the large creature to be a human body, Hiscock called the Newfoundland and Labrador Whale Release and Stranding Group (WRSG), which also works in turtle rescue in provincial waters.
Wayne Ledwell, director of the WRSG, which works with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and researchers at Memorial University, said the cause of death and other details surrounding the reptile will be known in the near future.
"We may freeze it and we're trying to work out (an autopsy)," Ledwell said Wednesday while travelling with the turtle in tow. "That may be next week some time and we'll do a fibreglass mould of it for educational purposes as well."
Ledwell figures the turtle was dead for a few days, but the autopsy, to be conducted in St. John's, will determine the time of death and other significant information.
The reptile weighed between 400-500 pounds and was more than six feet in length.
Tuesday's discovery was the seventh sighting Ledwell was aware of this year, but it's the first dead sighting since a leatherback washed up near Lobster Head Cove on the Northern Peninsula last year.
In previous years, leatherbacks have been sighted in Newfoundland and Labrador as far north as Nain.
Although science will have to take its course when the reptile's body is examined, Ledwell offered some suggestions how the incident might have happened.
"It's uncommon that they do wash up on the beach," he said. "Sometimes they're caught up in fishing gear, but this one seemed like it was dead for a few days. We had a lot of wind over the last few days so that might have affected it."
Anyone who comes across a stranded or dead whale or turtle is asked to call the WRSG toll-free at 1-888-895-3003.