Film Viewings

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BFREE Summer Interns Manuel Balona (back row left) and Jaren Serano (seated center) at Esperanza Primary School in Cayo, Belize

October has been filled with exciting Hicatee events in Belize and in the U.S. We are grateful to our dedicated partners in conservation and education who work tirelessly to ensure that their communities learn the value of protecting Belize’s treasured wildlife.

Film viewing events serve audiences of all ages. Activities during events include an introduction to the hicatee turtle, questions to determine existing knowledge about the species, a viewing of the 16-minute film, post questions to determine knowledge learned with prizes for correct answers and an opportunity to take the Hicatee pledge. 

A young student signs the Hicatee banner.

Two Esperanza students hold a Save the Hicatee banner created by Manuel Balona

Featured Events:

September 28, 2017, Wilmington Art Hive Gallery & Studio, Wilmington, North Carolina. Hosts: Clean Energy Events and Art Hive

October 10, 2017, Esperanza Primary School, Cayo. Hosts: Sacred Heart Junior College and BFREE.

October 12, 2017, Placencia Village.  Hosts: Crocodile Research Coalition, Southern Environmental Association and Fragments of Hope

October 13, 2017, Ocean Academy, Caye Caulker. Hosts: Crocodile Research Coalition, FAMRACC and Ocean Academy

October 13, 2017, Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society, Alta Vista. Host: T.R.E.E.S. 

October 17 – National Hicatee Day, The Environmental Research Institute at University of Belize is hosting a film event at noon in the Jaguar Auditorium.

October 17 – The South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston, South Carolina will do a special film viewing in their Turtle Recovery Theater.

Dates TBD  – Cayo Public Schools and Sacred Heart Junior College Campus. Hosts: Sacred Heart Junior College/ Environmental Assessment Class.

Dates TBD  – Independence Junior College Campus. Hosts: Independence Junior College. Natural Resource Management Class.

 

Hicatee Images for Facebook!

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Want another great way to show your support for turtle conservation during Hicatee Awareness Month? Want to be a #HicateeHero? Use one of these turtley amazing Hicatee images as your Facebook cover photo! It’s as easy as 1 – 2 – 3!  

  1. 1. Right click one of the images below and save it to your computer.
  2. 2. Open Facebook and hover your mouse over your current cover photo until the box appears that says “Change Cover.”
  3. 3. Click the “Change Cover” box  then select “Upload Photo” and upload your the new image from your computer.
Adult Male Hicatee Turtle. Photo Credit: Dustin Smith
Hicatee Hatchling. Photo credit: Carol Farneti Foster
Two Hatchlings. Photo credit: Heather Barrett
Freckles the first Hicatee Hatchling at the HCRC. Photo credit: Heather Barrett
Take the Hicatee pledge!

Don’t forget to snap a #shellfie and make it your profile pic for October 17 – National Hicatee Day!

Take the Hicatee Pledge!

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Earlier last year, BFREE Program Coordinator, Tyler Sanville, stitched together the “SAVE THE HICATEE” banner while on a visit to the Field Station. She cut letters out of old bed sheets and sewed them on one by one. The banner was first signed by Natural Resource Management students from Independence Junior College. 

The banner quickly became a symbol for all of those who have taken the ‘Hicatee Pledge’ to show their support. The pledge is an agreement that communicates shared conservation goals for the critically endangered turtle.

Today, the banner is covered with signatures from visitors to the Field Station and supporters of the ‘Hicatee Pledge’ at the Turtle Survival Alliance Conference held earlier this summer. 

Now is your chance to have your name added to the “SAVE THE HICATEE” banner! Help us reach our goal of adding an additional 1,000 signatures during Hicatee Awareness Month. 

Taking the pledge is easy! Read the pledge below, then upload a #shellfie of yourself wearing something green for the hicatee turtle. Use hashtags #Shellfie and #SaveTheHicatee so that we see it! 

Thank you to all of our Hicatee Heroes that have already taken the pledge and signed the banner.

The hicatee is disappearing, but TOGETHER we can save it! 

International Turtle Conservation and Biology Symposium

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The Hicatee Conservation and Research Center (HCRC) was featured in the 15th Annual Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Fresh Water Turtles.  The meeting, which is the largest gathering of non-marine turtle biologists in the world, was held in historic Charleston, South Carolina and attended by over 300 participants.

Heather Barrett and Peter Paul van Dijk at the Turtle Survival Center. Peter Paul was honored during the symposium with the John L. Behler Turtle Conservation Award

Turtle Survival Center Field Trip

Field trip participants visited enclosures throughout the Turtle Survival Center

The pre-symposium field trip to the new Turtle Survival Center was a highlight. The TSC is owned by Turtle Survival Alliance and represents a new and important direction for the organization. The Center is a captive setting for turtle and tortoise species that are critically endangered and that face an uncertain future in the wild. The TSC is dedicated to building up robust captive populations of these species. On Sunday, hundreds of participants were bused from the conference hotel to the TSC in order to tour the Center’s many facilities including the various complexes, the incubation room, and areas that are still being developed.

Hicatee Presentations

Symposium activities officially began on Monday. BFREE staff were honored to be invited to present the latest news and outcomes at the HCRC.  As part of the Captive Husbandry session, Jacob Marlin detailed the development of the HCRC as a facility and described what has been learned on site about the reproductive biology of the Hicatee.

Heather Barrett presented “Country-wide Efforts to Promote the Conservation of the Critically Endangered Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys mawii) in Belize, Central America.” She outlined the recent history of conservation outreach for the hicatee including the formation of the Hicatee Conservation Network and the

Each TSA project country is featured in a poster at the Turtle Survival Center

production of a documentary film. Heather’s session was followed by a special film screening of “Hope for Belize’s Hicatee: Central American River Turtle.” This was the first time the new documentary by Richard and Carol Foster was shown publicly. “Hope for Belize’s Hicatee,” was well received by the audience who was eager to view rare underwater footage of the turtle and appreciated the breadth of information covered in the short film.

In addition to BFREE staff presenting HCRC findings at the conference, Nichole Bishop, Ph.D. Candidate from the University of Florida, described her research related to the 2017 hicatee hatchlings in her talk, “Is Coprophagy an Important Management Decision for the Captive Breeding of Herbivorous Turtles?”

The symposium offered many opportunities for conversations and brainstorming on issues relating to the hicatee and other endangered turtles and tortoises. The symposium was an uplifting and inspirational event and BFREE staff left feeling impressed by the countless individuals dedicating their lives to the conservation of turtle species around the globe.

 

Hicatee Awareness Month

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We are thrilled to announce this October as the First Annual Hicatee Awareness Month! 

To kick off the month, the Turtle Survival Alliance, BFREE and Wildlife Film Productions will be releasing an exciting documentary providing a rare glimpse of the critically endangered hicatee turtle on October 2, 2017.

‘Hope for Belize’s Hicatee: Central American River Turtle,’ is a 16-minute natural history film produced by Emmy-award winning wildlife filmmakers, Richard and Carol Foster. The critically endangered Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys mawii), known in Belize as the Hicatee, has been intensely harvested for its meat. The film highlights the cultural significance of the hicatee in Belize, the environmental pressures propelling it toward extinction as well as the current work being done in Belize to save the species.

Make sure to save the date and begin telling your friends and family now! Once the film is released, we encourage you to host a viewing party at your home or in your community.

A Volunteer Toolkit will be made available in late September on the BFREE website. The Toolkit will include materials and info sheets for you to use at your viewing party. It will also include many ways to partake in the Hicatee Awareness Month.

Save the Date: 

October 2 – On World Habitat Day, ‘Hope for Belize’s Hicatee: Central American River Turtle,’ film will be released. Begin gathering your friends and family for viewing parties and send us photos of your events #SaveTheHicatee!

October 17 – National Hicatee Day in Belize, show your support from around the world and send us your #Shellfie wearing something green!

October is sure to be a turtley amazing shellebration! 

We will continue to share updates on Hicatee Awareness Month, please follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and our new Hicatee Center page on the BFREE Website!

 

 

 

Funding for the film was generously provided by Columbus Zoo & Aquarium Conservation Fund.

The Bladen Review 2017

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The fourth edition of BFREE’s annual magazine is now available in an interactive format online at Issuu! Get the latest news from the field station and learn about exciting research and educational projects taking place in and around the rainforests of Belize.

 

 

Click here to download a PDF version of The Bladen Review.

Hicatee Health Check

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Hicatee Health Checks 2016

Dr. Shane Boylan (left) performs ultrasounds on the female turtles to determine if there were eggs or follicles present. He is assisted by Dr. Thomas Rainwater while Tom Pop and Dr. Isabelle Paquet-Durand of Belize Wildlife and Referral Clinic look on.

Between September 17 and 19, the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) team joined BFREE staff in Belize during mid-September to perform annual health checks on all of the turtles at the Hicatee Conservation and Research Center (HCRC). The team consisted of Dr. Shane Boylan and Dr. Thomas Rainwater who were joined by Dr. Isabel Paquet, a veterinarian based out of the Belize’s Cayo District, Felicia Cruz and Gilberto Young of Belize Fisheries Department, Robert Mendyk of the Jacksonville Zoo, Dr. Ben Atkinson of Flagler College, Jacob Marlin and Tom Pop of BFREE, as well as Richard and Carol Foster, who were there to continue gathering footage for their documentary film.

Currently, there are 54 Hicatee at the center, including: 20 adult reproductive females, 16 confirmed males, many of which are either reproductive or just becoming reproductive, 6 sub-adults whose sex is yet to be determined, seven juveniles hatched in 2015 and five hatchlings from 2016.

Examinations revealed that 13 individuals previously thought to be female due to coloration have now been proven to be males because they have developed the distinct yellow head associated with adult male hicatee and are showing other signs of male sexual maturity.

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Ms. Felicia Cruz, Belize Fisheries Officer and Dr. Ben Atkinson, Flagler College hold new recruits at the HCRC.

Ultrasounds performed by Shane Boylan, DVM from South Carolina Aquarium showed reproductive activity (eggs and follicles were present) in 20 of the females.  Based on these tests, we are hopeful that December will bring between 60-100 eggs. Additionally, the seven juveniles and the five recent hatchlings are all in good health and are continuing to grow.

In coming months, we will deploy a remote video camera powered by a solar system well as battery-operated camera traps in an attempt to document the females nesting. No nesting footage has ever been recorded on the Hicatee. In fact, this is the first time a captive population of Hicatee has been studied with such detail which will allow us to expand the existing knowledge on the species.

The captive breeding program continues to exceed our expectations and we anticipate it will continue growing exponentially. Current infrastructure is needed and will require immediate and extensive expansion. If you are interested in supporting our efforts to conserve this critically endangered river turtle as a donor, partner or volunteer, please contact Heather Barrett at hbarrett@bfreebz.org.

Hicatee Health Checks 2016

Robert Mendyk of the Jacksonville Zoo assists with measuring an adult male Hicatee.

Currently, Dermatemys mawii is classified as Critically Endangered (facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the near future) by the International Union for Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), listed as endangered under the provisions of the U.S. Endangered Species Act (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), and listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Latest Hicatee turtle hatchlings for the HCRC

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Hicatee hatchling by Carol Foster

Hicatee hatchling by Carol Farneti Foster

On May 6 and 7, four Hicatee turtles hatched under the watchful eyes of wildlife filmmakers, Richard and Carol Foster, who documented the exciting events. They captured this amazing footage. The Fosters’ were contracted by the Turtle Survival Alliance and BFREE to produce a short documentary film in order to to improve local awareness and appreciation for the uniqueness and the plight of the Hicatee across its small range of southern Mexico, northern Guatemala and Belize. The film will focus on the turtle’s status in Belize and will describe its rapid decline due to over-hunting (for the purpose of human consumption), and will highlight current conservation efforts.

Ten eggs were laid by an adult hicatee at the Hicatee Conservation and Research Center on December 14, 2015. Seven were deemed viable and four were transferred to the Fosters’ residence outside of Belmopan for incubation at a constant temperature of 29 degrees celcius in hopes of producing females. The rest of the clutch remained at BFREE for incubation at ambient temperature. After 149 of incubation at the Fosters’ residence outside of Belmopan, four turtles emerged – tiny and healthy.  This was 44 days sooner than last year’s seven hatchlings, which emerged after 193 days of incubation at ambient temperature!  We are still waiting for the remaining two viable eggs from the December 14 clutch to hatch.

Initial funding for the film is being provided by the Columbus Zoo and the Houston Zoo.