First Report of Female Giant South American River Turtles (Podocnemis expansa) Being Buried Alive During Nesting

Podocnemis expansa is the only freshwater turtle species that presents a social nesting behavior in South America, where thousands of females congregate on nesting beaches. We recorded the death of 15 females that were found fully or partially buried by other females at a gregarious nesting site from 2013 to 2017 on 2 beaches of the Tabuleiro of Monte Cristo, Pará, Brazil; another 2 buried females were rescued while still alive. This is the first study to quantify and record biometrical information of females' deaths not caused by predation or harvesting in a nesting area.