YELLOW-SPOTTED RIVER TURTLES ARE RARE AND UNDER THE THREAT OF EXTINCTION.

Yellow-spotted river turtles living in the Amazon River are known as taricaya turtles in Peru, and both their eggs (called huevos de taricaya) and meat have long been a staple of the local communities’ diet. The taricaya turtle’s eggs are also a prized delicacy in the country, making them an expensive, highly sought-after food item on the black market. All this has led to illegal poaching of their eggs that, along with hunting for food and accidental deaths in fishing nets, had nearly brought these animals to the verge of extinction. The taricaya turtles have consequently earned a status of vulnerable species by the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) and are now protected by the Peruvian authorities who have been making significant efforts to save this species from disappearing.

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