The cágado-iaçá, or six-tubercled Amazon River turtle, had its risk elevated from near threatened to endangered, entering Brazil’s official list of fauna species threatened with extinction for the first time.Despite protection and conservation efforts, cágado-iaçá’s populations over the past 36 years declined by more than 50% in Amazonas and western Pará states, according to official data.The species is widely consumed in the northern region, alongside the yellow-spotted river turtle and the Amazon turtle, which remain in a less concerning category, according to ICMBio.The hyacinth macaw, the black howler monkey and the red silky anteater were reclassified as vulnerable, adding to the list of 790 species recently published.
A traditional food source for Amazonian communities, freshwater turtles have been included in Brazil’s list of fauna threatened with extinction for the first time. The cágado-iaçá, or six-tubercled Amazon River turtle, had its risk elevated from near threatened to endangered in a new national list recently released by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
Known in the Amazon as tracajás, freshwater turtles have been classified as nearly threatened for a long time, but it’s the first time that one of its species was classified as endangered, said Marília Marini, general coordinator of conservation strategies at ICMBio, the Brazilian agency in charge of conservation units.
