Between February 28th and March 1st, a total of 341 turtles (45 adults in the breeding population and 296 captive hatched animals) were assessed at the Hicatee Conservation and Research Center (HCRC). The primary purpose of the spring health assessment was to perform a basic exam of the overall health of the captive population at […]
Read a full update from BFREE on the latest during COVID-19 here: https://mailchi.mp/225f4bd263bf/bringingbfreetoyou-2447813 For most of us who remain home, trying our best to flatten the curve, cabin fever can set in quick. Many of you have reached out daydreaming about swimming in the Bladen River or hiking the BFREE boundary line. In response, we […]
The beginning of the year means the start of a brand new field season for BFREE. Kutztown University helped kick-off 2020 with an incredible group of 15 students and two instructors ready to embark on a two-week adventure in Belize. The group arrived on New Year’s Eve and spent the evening with Ernesto and Aurora Saqui in Maya Center […]
Join BFREE in the great world-wide celebration of migratory birds during the entire month of March! Below are educational resources and additional information for you to use in your classrooms. We encourage celebratory events throughout the month of March such as educational presentations, cleanups, and other habitat restorations as well as bird walks, and creative […]
The Hicatee, as Dermatemys mawii is known in parts of its range, is truly a unique turtle. Although fossil records indicate that closely related species once occurred across Central America and Europe, Hicatee remain as the only living representatives of a formerly species-rich family of turtles. It is a large turtle, sometimes exceeding 22 kilograms. […]
BFREE is located in the headwaters of the Bladen Branch of the Monkey River, a large tropical river that discharges to the Caribbean Sea south of Placencia. Despite the pristine character of the headwaters the Monkey River watershed has been home to Belize’s banana industry for nearly 100 years, with particularly intensive cultivation since the […]
Biannual health assessments continue to serve two important purposes. 1) They allow us to check the general and reproductive health of all captive animals, and 2) they enable us to continue to gather growth data which is added to our long-term dataset on the species. Understanding whether or not our turtles and their environment are […]
17th Annual Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles Each year since 2002, the Turtle Survival Alliance and IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group hold a symposium on the conservation and biology of tortoises and freshwater turtles. BFREE staff have participated regularly ever since the inception of the Hicatee Conservation […]