The illegal consumption of river turtles by local communities in the middle Orinoco River, Venezuela

The human consumption of Podocnemis aquatic turtles in the middle Orinoco region, was assessed. Shells of Podocnemis expansa, P. unifilis, and P. vogli were collected between 2000 and 2002 years in villages near to the Arrau Turtle Wild Life Refuge (RFSTA). Information on samples of P. expansa seized by the National Guard and the Ministry of Environmental Affaires in control stations close to the city of Puerto Ayacucho and the Puerto Paez town, was also recorded. Of the four turtle species present at the study area, P. expansa was the most captured for consumption (218 ind., 71.71 %), P. unifilis (72 ind., 23.7%) and P. vogli (14, 4.6%). The consumption of Chelus fimbriatus wasn't recorded. Of the 218 individual carcasses of P. expansa, 62 (28.4%) were seized in nearby cities either as live animals or shells, and 156 (71.6%) were shells found in villages along the river shores. The sizes distribution of P. expansa and P. unifilis consumed could coincide with the population size distribution. The minimum reproductive size for female P. expansa is 560 mm of shell's linear length (SLL), 203 mm for P. unifilis males and 310 mm for females, most of the P. unifilis consumed are either sub-adults. In P. expansa the most percentage are juveniles (SLL< 500 mm). The difference in the consumption sizes among these species is due to the captive breeding program and periodic releases of juvenile P. expansa carried out at the RFSTA already for ten consecutive years, which has already released a total a total of 102.417 juveniles of this species into their natural habitat.