THE arrival of a giant leatherback turtle made a big splash among locals in Cullenstown Strand, Co Wexford over the weekend.
The turtle, as big as an upturned rowing boat, washed up on the beach last Friday.
The Co Wexford coast is a popular feeding ground for these turtles, which arrive en masse every June to feed on jellyfish until early autumn.
A number of dead leatherback turtles washed up off the south coast last year, but this was the first at Cullenstown Strand for some time, Wexford naturalist Jim Hurley said.
"There were people arriving having a look and taking photos over the weekend.
"Often these turtles die after they mistake plastic bags for jellyfish and swallow them."
Carcass
The cause of the leatherback turtle's death remains unknown.
John Kinsella of Wexford Naturalists Fieldclub said large leatherbacks could weigh up to 1,000kg – "the best part of a ton" – and be two-and-a-half metres long.
They breed in the Caribbean and are so big not even sharks would bother to attack them.
He said it was likely that the turtle died offshore and the carcass was washed in by the tide: "They don't beach themselves like whales."
Mr Kinsella said the biggest recorded leatherback turtle washed up on a beach in Wales about 10 years ago and weighed over one tonne.
The species takes about 50 years to mature and turtles live at least 80 years.
The turtle has since been taken from the beach by council workers and buried.
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