(Podocnemis unifilis)Notes: This is a vulnerable freshwater turtle. The three you see here were photographed in an animal preserve during a July 2015 trip.Distribution: Native to the eastern Ecuadorian Amazon river systems, such as the Napo and Aguarico riversCamera:Location: Ecuador Conservation in EcuadorThreats: Populations face severe pressure from illegal adult turtle
Long-nosed Wood-Turtle (Rhinoclemmys nasuta) Location: Ecuador Nature Preserve near Quinto. Rare in Ecuador, but common in some areas of Colombia. The Long-nosed Wood-Turtle is a primarily aquatic turtle that inhabits bodies of water in evergreen lowland forests. Long-nosed Wood-Turtles are the most aquatic of the Rhinoclemmys genus, spending almost the entirety of
Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta): the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in relatively slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They have been shown to prefer large wetlands with long periods of inundation and emergent vegetation. This species is
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Elizabeth Gilbert
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