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    - Photo via Ministry of Public Security -
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Published on Thursday, July 6,
2023
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Officials
of the National Coast Guard Service,
from the Limón Beach station, in Limón
Province, rescued ten green river
turtles (Dermatemys
mawii) that
were kept in captivity. According
to the police report, during a routine
patrol, officers detected a boat
crossing the Banano River, near
the Westfalia district. Officers
managed to witness many turtles as
part of the boat's cargo. Allegedly,
the suspects ran their boat aground
near the bridge over the river and
managed to escape in a 4x4 vehicle
that was parked alongside the dock,
police said. However,
with the help of police officers from
the Ministry of Security, the crew was
detained near the dock. On the
boat, the park rangers found the green
river turtles. They were rescued and
taken to an animal rescue center
located in Puerto Viejo Beach, where
they were examined by vets to
determine their health conditions.
The boat, vehicle and other nautical instruments were seized as evidence in the case.
The six crew members were identified as two men and a woman with the surname Quiros. The remaining crewmen were three men with the surnames Montero, Arrieta and Jimenez.
The crew was taken before the Limón Public Ministry as suspects of committing a wildlife conservation crime.
Taking wild animals and keeping them in captivity is a crime in Costa Rica. According to Wildlife Conservation Law No.7317, people found guilty of keeping wild species in captivity could pay a fine between $600 to $26,000 or even receive a prison sentence of one to three years.
Anonymous complaints about wild animals hunting or in captivity can be made by calling line 1192.
The Central American river turtle is a relatively large-bodied species, with records of 1 meter straight carapace length and weights of 50 kg although most individuals are smaller.
This is a herbivorous and almost completely aquatic turtle that does not even surface to bask. Bizarrely for reptiles, the eggs can remain viable even after being underwater for weeks -in the recent past, some scientists mistakenly claimed it nests underwater, likely due to visiting Central America during a frequent flood, when nests are often submerged.
The species has been over-hunted because it is valued by local people as meat food.
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