Florida police rescue 9-foot-long leatherback turtle

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Police in Jacksonville rescued a nine-foot-long leatherback sea turtle that had become entangled in a crab trap.

Jacksonville sherriff's office shared video of the rescue to Facebook, as Lt. Steve Mullen and officer Brad Smith discovered the turtle off the shore of Hanna park at around 1 p.m. on Monday.

Mullen reached out from the boat and was able to cut the large turtle loose after the trap's rope had become wrapped around the turtle's neck.

"The trap's rope was looped around the sea turtle's neck, and the buoy was still attached to the trap," they wrote on Facebook. "As a result, whenever the turtle tried to dive, the rope tightened around its neck."

Officer's noted that the turtle had become exhausted while trying to free itself from the trap, but once Mullen removed the last bit of rope the turtle swiftly swam away to freedom.