The sea turtles of Punta Chame, a peninsula of Panama that juts into the Pacific Ocean, are facing a threat similar to the rhino and pangolin.
The eggs of the protected olive ridley turtle can be found for 75 cents to $1 each in town.
"Especially men think that by eating turtle eggs they will have more sexual pleasure, and that's why they eat turtle eggs," said a man who works for an organization that collects turtle eggs.
The eggs are not going to help you. He said that they are not an aphrodisiac.
The olive ridley is listed as vulnerable on the Red List of the International Union for Conservancy of Nature.
Padilla is one of the people who collect eggs and bury them in sand at the nursery.
Between July and February there are hundreds of hatchlings here. Within hours they are brought to the beach and released by volunteers who look on with pride as the tiny creatures make a frantic dash for the ocean.
They have to go through a process called "imprinting" to get to the beach where they were born and lay their own eggs.
Padilla patrols the beach during the day and night.
Stray dogs are roaming the beaches for food.
The eagles are a natural predator of turtles and part of the circle of life.
The turtles end up as by-catch from fishing and face threats to their beaches from human encroachment.
Illegal egg harvesting, overconsumption of their meat, and their shells are some of the threats to sea turtles.
Marine turtles and their uncertain fate are on the agenda of a global wildlife summit taking place in Panama City.
The convention on international trade in protected species will consider ways to fight egg theft.
The illegal harvest and trade of marine turtles continues to threaten them.
Agence France- Presse.
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