210,000 giant South American river turtles recently hatched on a beach in Brazil, making this one of the largest known hatchings this species has ever had. The giant South American river turtles is a freshwater turtle who can be found only in the Amazon River Basin. These turtles can live to be more than 20 years old and can grow up to three feet long.

 

Researchers at Wildlife Conservation Society and the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation marked and tagged 15,000 of the baby turtles before they let them go on their way to find water. The reason for the tagging, say the researchers, is so that they can locate these turtles in the future to learn more about population changes and monitor the number of turtles that exist. Though the giant South American river turtle is not currently considered to be an endangered animal, they may soon be listed as critically…