Siekopai women help restore turtle population in the Amazon — Mongabay
Seven women from the Indigenous Siekopai people in the Ecuadorian Amazon are collecting and protecting clutches of the Amazonian charapa turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) to help restore its population in the Aguarico River. During the 2025–2026 nesting season, they collected 235 eggs and released 208 hatchlings into the river in March and April.
The work of the Tari Nomiowa’i group, whose name means “turtle women,” is reported by Mongabay. The charapa turtle, also known as the yellow-spotted Amazon river turtle, is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Protecting clutches and caring for hatchlings
The women patrol the banks of the Aguarico, looking for turtle tracks and nests. They carefully transfer the eggs they find to an incubation facility, where the clutches are protected from predators, flooding and pollution. Project participants record data on the date, time, location and number of eggs in each nest using the Epicollect5 app.
After hatching, the young turtles are cared for for another month and fed cassava, sweet potatoes and taro leaves. Community leader and project participant Janet Piaguaje said she learned skills for handling eggs and knowledge about turtle nesting periods from her father.
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Threats to Aguarico turtles
The charapa population has declined because of hunting of adult turtles, the collection of eggs from nests, and pollution from garbage, oil and gasoline. According to Piaguaje, project participants see plastic, garbage bags and dead animals in the river, so they clean the beaches where they work.
Additional threats include bank erosion caused by boat traffic and rising water levels linked to climate change. As a result, areas where turtles lay their eggs are flooded. The group involved community residents and schoolchildren in releasing the young turtles and also held themed classes.
For Tari Nomiowa’i, turtle conservation is also connected to Siekopai cultural beliefs: these animals are considered a link between the visible and spiritual worlds and are under the protection of Koouvaheo, the spiritual leader, mother and ancient guardian of turtles.
