Staff of National Gendarmerie rescued a specimen of red footed land turtle (Chelonoidis Carbonarius) in a control procedure carried out in Formosa, Argentina.
The particularity of this discovery is that the turtle was inside a metal pot who was carrying a woman between his legs.
According to the information provided by that security force, the personnel of the Squad 16, by Clorindawhich carried out intensive and surprise controls on national route 11 kilometer 1286, stopped the operation of long-distance public transport.
At the time of the search, the uniformed officers They noticed that an adult citizen was making movements with her legs to try cover a metal container which was under his seat. These gestures alerted the staff who asked to open a cooking pot.
There, it was discovered that inside the container there was a a live specimen of red-footed land turtle.
The transfer of the animal represents a direct violation of provincial laws No. 1060 and 1314 and, furthermore, it is a endangered speciesaccording to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The turtle was saved and delivered to the Ministry of Production and Environment of the Directorate of Natural Resources and Management of the province.
What are red-footed tortoises like?
The yabotí turtle or red-footed land turtle is the largest land turtle in Argentina. It has a oval shell of 50 or 60 centimetersblack with brown or yellow spots. Its head is black with yellow, orange or red spots and its limbs are black with red or orange spots.
He maximum weight recorded in conditions of freedom is 14 kilograms; However, there are specimens in the Asunción Zoo in Paraguay that weighed more than 20 kilograms. Life expectancy is more than 50 years.
In the species there is a marked sexual dimorphismmales usually have larger than females and they have a concave plastron, the lower part of the shell flat, with deep lateral concavities and longer and thicker tails. Females have a flat plastronmore domed shells, laterally concave and shorter tails.