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Giant South American river turtles gathered in record numbers on the Guaporé River: a 2025 drone survey counted more than 41,000 nesting on a single stretch of riverbank, the largest such gathering known.

Wildlife Conservation Society (2025)

NatureScience

The story behind the card

The count was made by the Wildlife Conservation Society on the Guaporé River, which forms part of the border between Brazil and Bolivia. The giant South American river turtle is the largest of the side-necked turtles, which tuck their heads sideways under the shell, and its shell can approach a metre long. Each year females crawl onto sandbanks together to bury their eggs. Counting them from drone footage, frame by frame, is far more accurate than counting from the ground and does not disturb them. The species has been hunted for meat and eggs for centuries; in 2011 turtle specialists recommended listing it as critically endangered. Knowing where the big gatherings are shows which beaches most need protecting.

Türkçe oku
Dev Güney Amerika nehir kaplumbağaları rekor sayıda toplandı: 2025'teki bir dron sayımı, Guaporé Nehri'nde tek bir kıyı şeridinde yumurtlamaya gelen 41.000'den fazla kaplumbağa buldu. Bu, bilinen en büyük yuvalama topluluğu.
Wildlife Conservation Society (2025)

Sayımı Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Brezilya ile Bolivya arasındaki sınırın bir bölümünü oluşturan Guaporé Nehri'nde yaptı. Dev Güney Amerika nehir kaplumbağası, başını kabuğun altına yana doğru kıvırarak saklayan kaplumbağaların en irisidir; kabuğu bir metreye yaklaşabilir. Dişiler her yıl topluca kum adalarına çıkıp yumurtalarını gömer. Hayvanları dron görüntülerinde kare kare saymak, yerden saymaktan çok daha doğru sonuç verir ve kaplumbağaları rahatsız etmez. Tür yüzyıllardır eti ve yumurtası için avlanıyor; kaplumbağa uzmanları 2011'de türün “kritik tehlike altında” sınıfına alınmasını önerdi. Büyük toplanma yerlerini bilmek, hangi kumsalların en çok korunması gerektiğini gösteriyor.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Giant South American river turtle
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