Employees of the Ministry of Ecosocialism of Venezuela released 20 thousand cubs of the largest freshwater turtle Arrau in the Amazonas state reserve. About this on Friday, May 26, reported Ministry of Ecosocialism of Venezuela on its official website.
Arrau tortoises are endangered in Venezuela due to uncontrolled trapping and poaching.
“In continuation of the activities dedicated to the International Day for Biological Diversity, 20,000 baby Arrau tortoises were released this Thursday in the Isla de Cuba sector in Amazonas, this is a wildlife sanctuary and a conservation area for this species,” the agency said in a statement. .
The activists captured the cubs and fed them for a year so that they would grow to a size sufficient to survive in the wild. State Governor Miguel Rodriguez called the titanic work of environmentalists.
Ecologists also said that the main threat to Arrau turtles is people. Reptiles are illegally caught by poachers to be sold for meat, and the shells are used in various crafts.
Earlier, on May 19, employees of the Novosibirsk Zoo and researchers from the Institute of Systematics and Ecology of Animals of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences released wild birds into their natural habitat. In total, 25 rare birds were returned to the forests.
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