Taricaya conservation iniciative

Why does it matter? What do we do?

The Taricaya turtle is an endangered species in Peru, and our efforts are crucial for its survival. For the third year the Muyuna family is collaborating with the San Juan de Yanayacu community, the natural residents and protectors of its ecosystem. With technical support from the foundation and other private partners, we collect Taricaya turtle eggs from their natural habitat. We then transfer these eggs to semi-artificial conditions before releasing the hatchlings into their natural habitat.

Feel free to join us/ask

We believe that everyone can take action to preserve this species and the Amazonian ecosystem through a collaborative approach. That’s why we invite you to support our repopulation project in 2024. If you would like more information, please feel free to contact us via email.

Social

Having active community involvement is of paramount importance because often due to lack of knowledge or disinterest, people do not take care of the resource and consume it indiscriminately. Involving not only adults but also boys and girls, who are agents of change by having a different perspective, from an early age, on the importance of caring for these species, through an education program.

Enviornment

During November 2023, we protected 44 nests, totaling 1,631 eggs, and we anticipate releasing over 1,200 turtles into their natural habitat!

One hatch at a time:

The local community collects complete nests of Taricaya turtle eggs from the banks of Amazonian tributaries. Some travel long hours to reach these nests, and great care is taken to transport the nests in the same position as they were found before they are placed in the
prepared artificial nesting area.

As part of the cultural and economic activity, each egg is compensated with 1 sol.

Typically, nests contain 30 to 40 eggs.
The incubation period lasts between 80 and 90 days.
A collection module has been set up within the communal house to care for the baby turtles and provide them with nourishment before their release.