The Nature Protection Team (Seprona) of the Córdoba Civil Guard Command has initiated an investigation against a citizen for an alleged crime against flora and fauna. The reason is the illicit possession of an African spurred tortoise, a protected species.

The operation began thanks to citizen collaboration. An individual alerted the Civil Guard's COC Central about the presence of a large tortoise that might have been lost or abandoned in the municipality of Córdoba.

A Seprona patrol was dispatched to the location and confirmed it was an specimen weighing over 35 kilos. After initial efforts to identify the animal and locate its potential owners, a technical report from the General Directorate of Biodiversity, Forests and Desertification, under the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miterd), confirmed it was an African spurred tortoise (Centrochelys sulcata), a protected species.

The Civil Guard located the animal's owner, who could not prove the legality of its possession or that the tortoise did not come from illicit captures in its natural habitat. The tortoise was preventively seized and transferred to the Córdoba Zoo Conservation Center, a facility equipped for the rescue of CITES species, where it receives specialized care.

The proceedings initiated in this case have been forwarded to the competent court in Córdoba for processing.