Dead 800-Pound Sea Turtle Got Caught In Marine Gear, Aquarium Says

QUINCY, Mass (AP) — Marine biologists conducting a necropsy on an 800 pound sea turtle say the endangered creature had injuries consistent with entanglement in marine gear.

New England Aquarium said the Sunday exam to determine the turtle's cause of death found abrasions and tissue tearing on the animal's left front flipper and around its neck.

The adult female turtle also had a two foot section of marine rope in her mouth. She appeared to have been dead at least two days.

The turtle was found Saturday by Massachusetts Environmental Police about a mile south of Woods Hole.

Leatherbacks are the largest turtles and one of the largest reptiles in the world, the aquarium says. They migrate into New England during the summer to feed on sea jellies and usually winter in the Caribbean.

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