Conservation: Ten of thousands of turtle hatch at once

Take a look at these amazing pictures of tens of thousands of baby turtles hatching and heading for the Amazon River in Brazil.

These Giant South American River turtles emerged at a protected beach on the smaller Purus River, which feeds into the Amazon, where experts have been protecting them from poachers in special pens - more than 70 thousand hatched on one day alone!

The Giant South American river turtle is the largest freshwater turtle in Latin America and can grow to over a metre in length and weigh as much as a giant panda.

The turtles play an important ecological role by dispersing seeds that eventually help regenerate vegetation along river corridors.

Pictures from WCS Brazil