Visitors that dare to venture deep into the Western Amazon rainforest often encounter a strange sight - groups of butterflies hovering above yellow-spotted river turtles that are basking in the sun. What's even stranger is why they are there - To drink the tears from their eyes! And it's not because the beautiful insects are trying to comfort the reptiles, but because the tears contain the one ingredient that is lacking in their diet - sodium.
According to Phil Torres, a biologist who has been exploring the Amazon for many years, the forest lies 1,000 miles away from the primary source of salt - The Atlantic Ocean. This together with the fact that rain strips the atmosphere of any mineral particles it contains before it reaches the forest, makes the area extremely lacking in sodium, which is vital for the good health of all living beings.