Venezuelan school children released 1,000 young terecay turtles (Podocnemis unifilis) on the banks of the Caura River, a major tributary of the Orinoco. “We have the Wasaña zoo-nursery to rescue eggs and offspring from the unpredictable Caura, which one day can have the perfect water levels for laying eggs and the next day can flood out the nests,” program coordinator Arnaldo Ferrer told Tierramérica.

But more important than natural dangers, the terecay species is threatened by illegal hunting by peasant farmers and the Yekuana indigenous peoples of southeastern Venezuela, said Ferrer.

An adult terecay measures up to 48 centimeters long and weighs eight kilograms. Children became involved in the rescue program that is supported by the La Salle Natural Sciences Foundation and the Environment Ministry.