Stranded 500-lb leatherback sea turtle rescued in South Carolina

An endangered 500-pound (230-kg) leatherback sea turtle was being treated at a South Carolina aquarium on Monday after wildlife officials made a rare rescue of the reptile found alive and stranded on a remote beach.

It is the first living leatherback turtle to be recovered in South Carolina and one of only a handful ever treated at rehabilitation facilities in the United States, said Jenna Cormany, a wildlife biologist with the state's Department of Natural Resources.

"I can hardly believe it. They don't strand alive very often," said Kelly Thorvalson, manager of the Sea Turtle Rescue Program at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston.

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