It is one of nature ’ s great ocean explorers , a giant creature that swims 13,000 miles in a year and can live to the age of 100 . But rather than roaming the seven seas , this 34-stone leatherback sea turtle is undergoing treatment in a US aquarium after it swallowed a floating plastic bag . The leatherback , nicknamed Yawkey , was found dangerously ill on a remote beach in South Carolina . Scroll down for video . The rare leatherback sea turtle , nicknamed Yawkey ( pictured ) , was found stranded on a remote beach . The huge turtle , weighing an estimated 500 pounds , is now being treated at South Carolina Aquarium . Rescuers believe Yawkey may have accidentally eaten plastic having mistaken it for his favourite food jellyfish . Rescuers tend to Yawkey at the aquarium where he is being treated with fluids and antibiotics . Yawkey floats in the small tank set up for him at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston . Experts said it became stranded after it mistook a billowing plastic bag for the jellyfish it feeds on – a common problem which kills countless sea turtles every year . Eating plastic could cause a build-up of gas in the digestive tract , making the turtle buoyant and washing it to shore . The incident is a stark illustration of the damage humans are doing to the environment by dumping millions of tons of plastic rubbish into our oceans . Recent studies estimate 8million tons of bags , bottles , toys and other rubbish ends up in the seas each year – affecting up to 400 different marine species , many of them endangered . The Daily Mail has been campaigning since 2008 for tougher action to reduce plastic bag waste . A major victory in the Banish the Bags campaign came in June last year when a 5p charge for plastic bags was announced in England . The charge , which will be introduced by October , is expected to reduce bag use by up to 80 per cent and raise up to £100million a year for good causes . The aquarium hopes to release Yawkey soon because leatherbacks do not cope well in captivity . Wildlife experts rescued the rare leatherback from a beach on Saturday . Kelly Thorvalson , a turtle expert at the South Carolina Aquarium Sea Turtle Hospital in Charleston , said it took five people to haul the giant beast from the beach . They rode in a 4x4 truck through mud and marshland to get to the leatherback , before using a winch to get it on to the vehicle . There were few signs of external injury to the beast , leading conservationists to conclude it had probably swallowed a plastic bag . ‘ Leatherbacks feed primarily on jellyfish so it is very possible that plastics – such as bags that look like jellyfish – could be causing a gastro-intestinal issue , ’ Mrs Thorvalson added . Leatherbacks , the biggest of all the sea turtles , swim in six of the seven oceans , roaming up to 13,000 miles a year in their search for food and nesting sites . The leatherback turtle ’ s dark blue shell is leathery to the touch – giving it its name . The animal is officially endangered , with global populations of nesting females having dropped from 115,000 in 1980 to as few as 34,000 in recent years . Yawkey has responded well to antibiotics and other treatment , and the aquarium hopes to release it in the next few days .
Rare leatherback sea turtle was found stranded on a South Carolina beach . Nicknamed Yawkey , the huge creature was so big he did n't fit on scales . Score: 7