When a mother baby river turtle gets so big she requires a small boat to carry her, the young ones have to be freed. The endangered species can reach up to 26 pounds and is found mainly in Peru’s Amazon region, which is now getting ready to release 3,200 baby turtles into the wild in a two-week festival.
The hatchlings hatched from the first of hundreds of thousands of eggs in a lake in the Cajamarca.
The lakes of Cajamarca are known for providing ample food and water for turtles to raise the young. The tide will empty the lake in just two weeks and go out again a few months later in mid-July, the BBC reported.
A nature reserve has been created in the Leblon River, and efforts will be made to return all juvenile turtles to the Cajamarca Basin and the Leblon River area. For the tourists, there will be tours, trail walks and information about the turtles, and educational devices for visitors and volunteers to place on the beach, the BBC reported.
The event is part of the Peru Naranjo Festival (Naranjo means turtle), which coincides with the wet season in the Amazon region. More than 2 million tourists visit the region during the rainy season.
The festival is held in late May or early June every year, according to BBC News.