A 290-kilogram dead leatherback turtle was recovered Tuesday on the shores of Malpeque Bay, P.E.I.

The endangered animal was first spotted last week, but it took conservation officers some time to locate the body.

The turtle is lifted into the Atlantic Veterinary College by a forklift.

Officers needed to use a local farmer's forklift to load it onto their vehicle.

Very rare in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, leatherback turtles got their name from the hard, leathery skin covering their backs. They don't have a shell or scales.

"Around Prince Edward Island waters you don't see them very often. We get the odd report, maybe one every few years," said Chuck Gallison of the provincial Environment Department.

The leatherback turtle was taken to the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown, where a necropsy will be performed.

Considered by some to be the world's largest reptile, leatherbacks can grow to 900 kilograms.