Wildlife Peru confiscates hundreds of frogs used as aphrodisiacs

Authorities in the Andean country of Peru have confiscated hundreds of endangered frogs that were caught by poachers for their alleged aphrodisiac effects.

The national forest and wildlife service announced on Thursday that it had found 390 frogs in a cardboard box in a truck in the Puno region bordering Bolivia. The animals were to be taken to the capital Lima, where they are widely used in traditional medicine and in dishes designed to boost customers' sex drive.

Some naturopaths brew a drink from the frogs, which they call the "Viagra of the Incas", alluding to the medicine used to treat erectile dysfunction. The drink is said to have many other medicinal effects.

The Titicaca giant frog (Telmatobius culeus), one of the largest water frogs in the world, is native to Peru and parts of Bolivia. Over the past 15 years, the population of this species has declined by 80 percent due to smuggling, climate change and environmental pollution.

Wildlife trafficking is a criminal offense in Peru, punishable by fines of more than 14,500 dollars - more than fifty times the minimum monthly wage.

SDA