Beautiful: Scientists filmed from the air the mass hatching of baby turtles [VIDEO]

(Wikimedia Commons https://bit.ly/3GMZEqL)

Zoologists from the Wildlife Conservation Society have captured the hatching of hundreds of thousands of baby turtles on the banks of the Guapore River in Brazil.

The video, which was filmed using a drone, shows how baby broad shield-footed turtles emerge from the sand, crawl along the shore and disappear into the water.

Turtles are considered one of the most endangered groups of reptiles.

Scientists estimate that about 60% of their species have become endangered due to hunting, habitat destruction, the spread of invasive species and pollution of the oceans.

Some species of turtles have become so rare that the surviving individuals can be counted with fingers.

However, more numerous turtles also need protection.

For example, the Arrau turtles (Podocnemis expansa), which live in the Amazon, Orinoco and their tributaries, are not endangered species.

Nevertheless, their populations have been reduced primarily by hunting and collecting eggs.

---

---

CONSERVATION EFFORTS
Zoologists from the Wildlife Conservation Society are actively involved in the study and conservation of broad shield turtles.

Such a significant interest in these reptiles is associated with the important role they play in the ecosystems of the South American continent.

Arrau turtles feed mainly on aquatic vegetation, regulating the volume of its biomass.

And when you consider that these reptiles reach a meter in length and weigh up to 90 kgs (the largest turtles in South America), it is not surprising that they eat a lot.

In addition, Arrau turtles eat fruits that have fallen into the water and spread their seeds with droppings.

Experts pay special attention to the sandy beaches on the Guapora River, which flows in the Western Amazon, on the border of Brazil and Bolivia.

Every year at the end of September, about eighty thousand female broad-legged turtles arrive here to lay their eggs in the sun-warmed sand.

And from mid-December to early January, tiny turtles are born, which immediately go to the water.

The breeding season on the coast of Guapore is believed to form the largest concentrations of turtles in the world.

To prevent poachers from eating turtle eggs, employees of the Wildlife Conservation Society regularly patrol the beaches with clutches.

And this year they also decided to count with a drone the females that arrived on the shores of Guapore for breeding.

In addition, the drone helped to capture the simultaneous appearance of hundreds of thousands of baby turtles that had just hatched from their eggs.

(The Guardian News / YouTube)

In the video, you can see how numerous cubs appear from the sand, move along the shore and disappear into the river.

And so that the turtles do not go astray, zoologists have installed a fence that prevents them from leaving the beach from the wrong side.

Sources:

• Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/01/06/turtles-eat-south-america/
• Wildlife Conservation Society: https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/18509/VIDEO-WCS-Scientists-Document-Worlds-Largest-Hatching-of-Baby-Turtles-English-Spanish-and-Portuguese.aspx?_gl=1y7tm12_gaNjg4MTc5NDA1LjE2NzM1OTE4Mjk._ga_BTX9HXMYSX*MTY3MzU5MTgyOS4xLjAuMTY3MzU5MTgyOS42MC4wLjA.
• The Guardian News:

---

---

Wanna save your links for later?
Try this new tool: https://bit.ly/3Wb8Mwe

---

---

#science #animals #turtles #brazil #conservation #news #nftmc