Happy Hicatee Awareness Month everyone!
What is a hicatee, you say? The Hicatee, also known as the Central American River Turtle, is one of the top 25 most endangered turtles in the world. Our partners in Belize, BFREE (Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education) have been working to protect and restore hicatee populations in Belize since 2014, and started Hicatee Awareness Month in 2017 to draw attention to the status of hicatees, in Belize and beyond.
This summer, Zoo New England welcomed BFREE’s Hicatee Conservation & Research Center Manager, Thomas Pop, and Wildlife Conservation Fellow, Barney Hall, to Massachusetts for some cross-cultural (and cross-herpetological) exchange!
Below is a short report from Barney on their visit. Barney graduated from the BFREE Wildlife Fellow program this summer and is now attending college in Minnesota. Wish him luck as he’s about to experience his first ever winter!
BFREE Staff Visit Massachusetts: Report from Barney Hall
This past August, Zoo New England hosted Thomas Pop (HCRC Manager) and myself, for a visit to Massachusetts. Our first day in the field was to assist in checking Diamondback terrapin traps in an estuary in Wareham. This was an exhilarating experience; we kayaked as a team to inspect large hoop nets baited with sardines.
Our first encounter with a terrapin was thrilling — I was both elated and surprised by its size. The terrapin’s intricate patterns and striking head coloration, coupled with its robust shell and distinctive plastron showing growth rings, were truly captivating. The ongoing research aims to assess the population in that region, equipping ten female terrapins with radio telemetry gear to monitor their nesting areas and enhance protection efforts. This experience was both enlightening and transformative.
The next day we had the privilege of touring Franklin Park Zoo. This visit afforded me the opportunity to observe a diverse array of animals, including prairie dogs, warthogs, and ostriches, many of which I had never seen before. In the afternoon, I presented to the zoo staff and virtual attendees, marking our ten-year milestone as a captive breeding facility for the critically endangered Hicatee. I highlighted our journey, the challenges and successes encountered, our programmatic activities, and future plans. The staff were highly engaged and provided valuable feedback, which was greatly appreciated.
On our last day we embarked on fieldwork led by Senior Field Conservationist Jimmy Welch and his lab technician partner Maxim Elmaleh. (Jimmy joined us for field work in Belize earlier this year.) Our first task involved tracking a captive-bred juvenile Blanding’s turtle, which was unusually found in a pine forest rather than the expected swamp. After recording morphometric data and physical observations, we released the turtle.
We then tracked a spotted turtle, requiring us to wade through dense mud and navigate thick underbrush. Despite numerous challenges, we successfully located the spotted turtle. The final task involved tracking an adult female Blanding’s turtle in a large pond. Tracking two females simultaneously was complex, as they frequently moved across the pond. We employed a strategy of positioning teams on either side of the pond to minimize disturbance and successfully tracked both turtles. The last female Blanding’s turtle proved particularly challenging due to signal interference from surrounding vegetation, and its resting site in a beaver lodge added an unexpected thrill. The experience was both exhilarating and educational, providing insights into the diverse habitats utilized by turtles across different geographic regions.
The days passed quickly, and I am left satisfied and encouraged by the experience. Soon after my visit to ZNE, I completed my two-year Fellowship Program at BFREE. I have left Belize to continue my studies, and I have begun a new journey as a third-year undergraduate student at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In my opinion, ZNE’s support has been crucial in advancing the goals of the BFREE Science and Education Fellowship Program and in facilitating the training of motivated Belizean students identified by this program. In collaboration with BFREE staff, Heather Barrett and Jacob Marlin, ZNE has developed opportunities that help to nurture Fellows into leaders in conservation.
I’m grateful that my time in Massachusetts helped me to transition from Belize to the United States. On behalf of myself and BFREE, we extend our heartfelt thanks to Zoo New England for co-sponsoring this trip and for their unwavering support over the years.