Plastic Debris in a Nesting Leatherback Turtle in French Guiana

We report a field observation of an adult female leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) expulsing 2.6 kg of plastic debris from her cloaca while nesting in French Guiana. This field report sustains concerns about plastic ingestion by this endangered species and, further, the impacts of plastic debris to marine wildlife, and points out the needs for effective waste management in both terrestrial and marine habitats.