MANCORA, Peru — The largetooth sawfish is a critically endangered fish distinguished by its long, blade-like snout edged with tooth-like projections. In the waters off Peru, it’s become an unlikely casualty of one of the country’s most entrenched traditions: cockfighting. The elongated “teeth” that give sawfish (Pristis pristis) their name aren’t actual teeth, but hardened, modified scales embedded along the rostrum. For decades, some cockfighters have carved these structures into sharp spurs that they attach to a rooster’s legs before a fight. (Left) A crowd gathered on the beach in the town of Caleta La Cruz in Tumbes province, northern Peru, in 2014, after fishers landed a largetooth sawfish they captured accidentally. (Right) A sawfish rostral “tooth.” Images courtesy of (left) Emilio Borjas Garcia/Planeta Oceano and (right) Patricia Charvet. A new film by Mongabay, Why cockfighting is threatening Peru’s last sawfish, examines how — even as sawfish have nearly disappeared from Peruvian waters — their rostral teeth continue to circulate through informal markets, repurposed into weapons for the ring. Cockfighting in Peru is legal and is formally recognized as cultural heritage. An estimated 1,700 arenas operate nationwide, with between 300,000 and 500,000 breeders involved. Blade fights and spur fights are common. Historically, prized spurs were crafted from natural materials, including hawksbill turtle shells and sawfish rostral teeth. By the 1970s, sawfish spurs were especially sought after for their durability and capacity to inflict severe injury. They commanded premium prices among competitors. Spurs for cockfighting fashioned from sawfish teeth. Images courtesy…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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