We must state at the beginning that this is a rare sight as turtles are shy and go into hiding when filmed openly. And this video is so stunning - butterflies taking turns to sip the tears because this is crucial for their survival and well being.
Quest for sodium
Butterflies are always looking for much-needed sodium which is not present in their flower-based diet. Turtle tears provide butterflies with sodium.
Turtles don't seem to have any tricks up their sleeves to scare the butterflies off.
Turtles can slowly swing their head or close their eyes sometimes, but that doesn't seem to discourage the determined butterflies.
Butterflies drinking turtle tears...
— Susanta Nanda IFS (@susantananda3) October 22, 2021
The butterflies are attracted to the turtles' tears as the liquid drops contain salt, specifically sodium.Turtles have sodium in plenty from their carnivores diet.
🎥 Phil Torres, pic.twitter.com/ByeJfUjdI1
The video was captured a couple of years back by Phil Torres, a tropical entomologist and science communicator. He was travelling down Peru's Tambopata River. He uploaded the footage on his YouTube channel, The Jungle Diaries.
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