We couldn't be happier to hear that 'Yawkey', the 230kg (500lbs) juvenile leatherback that was stranded on a beach near Georgetown in South Carolina in the US recently, has been released back into the wild just a week after her rescue!

Transporting the large reptile to the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Hospital was a logistical challenge – it took five people nearly four hours just to retrieve the animal safely from the beach, and as you can see in the photos below, just as many to facilitate her return! 

Sea Turtle Rescue Program team members are still unsure of what caused the giant reptile to strand – very few leatherback turtles have ever washed up alive in the US, and this one was believed to be the first ever found in South Carolina – but after antibiotics, fluids and vitamins, the giant turtle's behaviour appeared normal enough for a safe release.

Staff encourage South Carolinians to contact the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network (STSSN) hotline should they see Yawkey (or any other turtle) on the beach.

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Image: South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program/Facebook
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Image: Image: South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program/Facebook
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Image: South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program/Facebook
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Image: South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program/Facebook
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Image: South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program/Facebook
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Image: South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program/Facebook
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Image: South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program/Facebook

Get in on the action, check out the video!

Top header image: South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Rescue Program/Facebook