Amazon's giant South American river turtle holding its own, but risks abound

[Judi Lynn]

by Jenny Gonzales on 6 December 2019

In Venezuela it is called arrau; in Peru and Ecuador, charapa; in Brazil, tartaruga-da-Amazônia. Regardless of name, the Podocnemis expansa, or giant South American river turtle, as dubbed in English, has inhabited the vastness of the Amazon and Orinoco basins for centuries. To this day, the arrau as it is most commonly called, is the largest freshwater turtle in the region and one of the most consumed species — its meat is said to be delicious.

Not surprisingly as a result, its population has been drastically reduced since the 19th century, when the species numbered in the tens of millions, according to historical estimates. Foreign naturalists from that time reported that it was virtually impossible to navigate the Tefé River, in Amazonas state, without a boat often hitting turtles swimming along the way. In recent decades, faced with imminent extinction in parts of South America, conservation initiatives were launched, especially in Brazil.

However, neither those national, regional nor local efforts have had the capacity to survey populations across the species’ entire range — a vital process, biologists say, that gathers species baseline data and assesses threats in order to devise the best protection strategies.

So in 2014 a group of researchers and conservationists from six Amazonian countries (Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia) came together in Balbina, in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, with the purpose of carrying out a range-wide survey.

More:
https://news.mongabay.com/2019/12/amazons-giant-south-american-river-turtle-holding-its-own-but-risks-abound/