IQUITOS, Peru — “Oh, they’re so delicious,” said Soledad Coronil, an elderly local woman, as she enjoyed a boiled tortoise egg earlier this year. “You have to open the shell and dig out the insides, either with your hand or with a spoon. I like to add a bit of salt, too.” Coronil’s meal, which came from a yellow-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulata) is not uncommon in a country that serves bull testicles, llama jerky and guinea pig. In the Peruvian Amazon, turtle eggs are a cherished — and illegal — delicacy. And the only way to get them is via illegal poachers. Peruvian authorities have grappled with the ongoing and brazen issue for decades, unable to effectively curb the illicit trade. Factors such as corruption, being stretched too thin and other more pressing forms of crime have all played a role. Soledad Coronil enjoying a turtle egg at Belén market. Image by Ryan Biller. Turtle eggs are a culinary staple in Iquitos, the Peruvian Amazon’s unofficial capital, with dishes such as “river turtle in ginger on rice” or “turtle eggs with garlic sauce” frequently present on the city’s restaurant menus. Between 2015 and 2020, two of the nine most-trafficked species in Peru were turtles: the yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle (Podocnemis unifilis), locally known as taricaya, and the yellow-footed tortoise. Both species, listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, can be found, butchered but still writhing, in Belén, Iquitos’ notorious wet market. At the headwaters of the…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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