Turtle Rescue Photo Update: 8 Jan 2021
[Our internet access has been very limited since we've minimized expenses, so here are updates from the past few months]
Update: Jan 8, 2021
A few weeks ago we released the first turtle hatchlings of this year's nesting season at the Tapiche Jungle Reserve in the northern Amazon of Peru. We selected the biggest and strongest hatchlings and liberated them on the beach in front of our lodge. While those hatchlings are already exploring the Tapiche river on their own, there are still around 3000 hatchlings in our nursery that need our attention and care to grow stronger until they can be released into freedom.
Getting food for the baby turtles is one of our main tasks. In only one day, the hatchlings consume one big bucket full of aquatic plants (approx 30L/12kg), so on a daily basis we go out to our lagoons to collect the plants. The main plant they eat is locally called huama (Pistia stratiotes), known as water lettuce or water cabbage in English. This species grows aggressively and can easily overtake the entire surface of a lagoon if left unchecked, essentially suffocating the fish by blocking gas exchange between the water and air and reducing the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. By eating the Pistia stratiotes, the turtles are not only adorable, but they are a vital key to the health of the whole ecosystem!
While the adult Yellow-Spotted River Turtles mostly eat aquatic plants, the young ones also feed on little insects and worms. For that reason, we put up little solar-charged lamps over the nursery at night. Insects that get attracted by the light might fall into the nursery, so the baby turtles can feed on them.
Apart from providing food, we make sure the nursery remains clean and the water remains at a good level so that there's enough water for the turtles to practice swimming, diving and hiding, but there's also some dry areas. The rainy season has started and one afternoon of strong rain might fill up the pond of the nursery completely and flood its little beach. To ensure the best possible growing circumstances for the hatchlings, we make sure their beach remains dry, which allows them to come out of the water to heat up their bodies in the sun. In addition to coming out to the beach to bask in the sun, the turtles also climb up wooden planks and logs we put in their nursery to get sun exposure.
We want to thank everyone who has helped us during this past year and especially during the turtle nesting season! Your help has made it possible that these little hatchlings will get a chance of a life in the Tapiche Jungle Reserve.
You can still support all the jungle babies of Tapiche via our GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/472e0a00
