Leatherback sea turtles frequently mistake plastic bags for jellyfish prey, causing intestinal obstruction and death in a species already critically threatened.
Leatherbacks that ingest plastic bags experience progressive intestinal impaction as the non-digestible material accumulates, eventually preventing food passage. The animal may continue hunting while unable to absorb nutrition, leading to starvation despite apparently normal behavior. Intestinal perforation from sharp plastic fragments causes peritonitis - a painful inflammatory condition. Death from plastic ingestion is prolonged, contrasting with the predatory death from a boat strike. The individual welfare harm is severe and the population vulnerability compounds the conservation urgency of plastic reduction.