March 27, 2015 - The giant South American river turtle is not as abundant as it once was in some areas, but conservation methods—including patrols of nesting beaches by armed guards—help Brazil maintain a healthy population. Here turtles interacting with one another underwater are observed, for what could be the first time.



Richard Vogt



Curator of Reptiles and Amphibians



National Institute of Amazonian Research









[00:05] This species of turtle we're working with, giant Amazon river turtle, is found throughout the Amazon basin. It's critically engendered, beaches are protected by armed guards, before the nesting season, during the nesting season and afterwards until the females migrate with their young.









Virginia Bernardes



Doctoral Student



National Institute of Amazonian Research









[00:28] Used to be 10,000 females nesting in this area, now we just have 600 females.









[00:43] We try to understand the interaction between the adults with the juveniles. Especially with the hatchlings. So the Critercams can show the behaviors of the moms with the juveniles, the hatchlings. So we know they migrate together.









Richard Vogt









[01:02] We have seen instances of interaction between females, of females following other females and nipping at the back of their shell or face to face contact with females, recognizing other females.









[01:22] In Brazil it's not considered endangered by the Brazilian government because we still have huge populations. We have areas where we have thousands of females nesting, and that's only because the Brazilian government has had a large program for the last 35, 40 years, where we're protecting nesting beaches.



