392 CHELONIA 



to the prowling jaguar, which turns them over on to their backs 

 and neatly cleans out the flesh with its sharp and powerful 

 claws. 



Fertilisation takes place in the water, the eggs are deposited 

 on land, in sand-banks, the female digging a hole about two feet 

 deep and covering up the numerous soft-shelled eggs with sand. 

 The time of deposition is the early hours of the morning, but 

 the season depends upon the beginning of the principal rains, 

 since the young are hatched shortly before the torrential rains. 

 This season differs considerably in the various countries. The 

 hatching takes about forty days ; the eggs are consequently laid 

 in the Amazon countries during the months of September to 

 November, in the Orinoco district in March. This species lives 

 in the pools of the inundated forests, and when these are dried 

 up, the animals retire into the rivers themselves. Their food 

 consists mainly of the fruit dropping down from the trees. 



Bates, in his delightful book, The Naturalist on the River 

 Amazon, gives the following lively and exhaustive account of 

 his experience with these turtles : 



" I accompanied Cardozo in many wanderings on the Solimoes, 

 during which we visited the ' praias ' (sand islands), the turtle 

 pools in the forests, and the by-streams and lakes of the great 

 desert river. His object was mainly to superintend the business 

 of digging up turtle eggs on the sandbanks, having been elected 

 commandant for the year by the municipal council of Ega, of 

 the ' praia real ' of Shimuni, the one lying nearest to Ega, 

 There are four of these royal praias within the Ega district, a 

 distance of 150 miles from the town, all of which are visited 

 annually by the Ega people for the purpose of collecting eggs 

 arid extracting oil from their yolks. Each has its commander, 

 whose business is to make arrangements for securing to every 

 inhabitant an equal chance in the egg harvest, by placing 

 sentinels to protect the turtles whilst laying, and so forth. The 

 pregnant turtles descend from the interior pools to the main 

 river in July and August, before the outlets dry up, and there 

 seek in countless swarms their favourite sand-islands ; for it is 

 only a few praias that are selected by them out of the great 

 number existing. The young animals remain in the pools 

 throughout the dry season. These breeding places of turtles 

 then lie 20 to 30 or more feet above the level of the river, 



