I2- YELLOW-HEADED SIDENECK TURTLE

Description

The yellow-headed sideneck turtle gets its name from yellow spots on the olive green to brown head, which are most obvious in young turtles, and fade to almost nothing in females, but remain present in males throughout life. The carapace is domed with a raised ridge in the centre, known as a keel. The plastron is yellow and sometimes has dark blotches. The head is long with a distinct snout, and there is a barb on the chin. This turtle has a long neck which can be withdrawn horizontally within the margins of the shell, leaving it partly exposed, rather than retracting it in a vertical ‘S’ bend as in most other turtles.

Habitat

You may find the yellow-headed sideneck turtle in calm waters and it probably will occupy flooded forests, swamps and lagoons during high water and riverbeds in the dry season. It will appear in the Amazon and Orinoco river systems in northern South America, including Venezuela, eastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, northeastern Peru, the Guianas, Brazil, and northern Bolivia.

Threats

The greatest threat to this species is hunting by indigenous people known as Yekuana Indians, because they consumed the meat and eggs of this species regularly. The species may not last long if the demand for both turtle eggs and meat increases because the number of illegal hunters will increase, too.

Climate change can potentially threaten turtle species as the sex of the baby turtles is determined by the temperature at which they are incubated. If the temperature rises two degrees Celsius, the ratio of males to females may be severely affected, and a rapid rise of four degrees Celsius might possibly eliminate males altogether. Turtles are seen as indicator species that can reveal the effects of climate change on the natural world.

Conservation Efforts

As the main consumers of yellow-headed sideneck turtles, the indigenous Yekuana Indians are now trying to hunt the turtles sustainably. They have implemented a conservation program for the 12 main nesting sites of the turtle along the de Ninchare River and these areas are now protected from hunters by armed guards. Other conservation initiatives include rescuing clutches that are at risk of being flooded by rising rivers, as well as raising yellow-headed sidenecked turtles commercially.