The March bi-annual health assessment for Dermatemys mawii began on Saturday, March 5, and will wrap up on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. This is the first health assessment since March 2020 that we’ve been able to invite participants from abroad.
The Hicatee Conservation and Research Center has experienced successful breeding of our captive population of turtles since 2014. Since then, hundreds of turtles have been hatched at the facility. However, because there is little research on the species to date, we have not been able to distinguish male hatchlings from female hatchlings. To ensure a successful re-wilding program, we must verify the ratio of males to females. And, if the ratios are not correct, then we will use that information to modify our incubation methods. This health assessment is dedicated to determining our sex ratios at the HCRC.
Research shows that if a turtle’s eggs incubate below 81.86 Fahrenheit, the turtle hatchlings will be male. If the eggs incubate above 87.8° Fahrenheit, however, the hatchlings will be female. Temperatures that fluctuate between the two extremes will produce a mix of male and female baby turtles.
Turtle biologist, Dave Rostal, and Veterinarians, Elliott Jacobson and Isabelle Paquet-Durand are performing endoscopies to determine the sex of our hatchlings. Simultaneously, Bryan Windmiller and Emilie Wilder from Zoo New England are taking morphometric photos of each turtle to see if their plastron shape can help determine the sex of the turtles.
We are also collecting typical growth data on a subset of turtles as well as reviewing their overall health and performing ultrasounds on adult females.
Participants: Zoo New England Staff: Bryan Windmiller and Emilie Wilder; Visiting Veterinarian: Elliott Jacobson, Professor Emeritus, University of Florida, Visiting Biologist: Dave Rostal, Southern Georgia University, Local Veterinarian: Isabelle Paquet-Durand, Visiting Volunteers: Doris Dimmitt, Rod Dimmit, Emily Gregory, Tim Gregory, and Alexi Dart-Padover, BFREE staff: Thomas Pop, Jonathan Dubon, Mark Canti, Elmer Tzalam, Jacob Marlin, and Heather Barrett. BFREE Team Hicatee chef: Edwardo Pop.
Thanks to Zoo New England for their support of this health assessment as well as for their ongoing support for the program.
https://www.bfreebz.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/IMG_4063.jpg15122016Heather Barretthttps://www.bfreebz.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Logo-1080.pngHeather Barrett2022-03-08 13:37:522022-03-08 13:37:55Determining sex ratios on captive-born Hicatee
Last year, HCRC Manager, Thomas Pop, and Wildlife Fellow, Jonathan Dubon, separately witnessed two amazing events during their daily work at the Hicatee Conservation and Research Center. Tom observed captive Dermatemys mawii (Hicatee turtle) exhibiting courtship behavior and mating and later Jonathan recorded a female Hicatee laying eggs. Both events were firsts for the staff of the HCRC. Tom and Jonathan describe their individual sightings below.
Tom’s Account of D. mawii mating:
During the 3-4th week of October 2021, I observed the following events:
Searching: I noticed that several males were following a single female and thought it might have been to initiate a courtship ritual. I saw the males searching both in the mornings and in the evenings on some days. This caught my attention because Hicatee rarely come to the surface of the water and generally only poke their nostrils out to breathe. I did not see any females searching for a male partner to mate with, but we cannot discard this idea as we do not have enough evidence.
Pre-copulation: Several activities were noted before copulation during this time. I saw that the males would try to get behind the female as if they were trying to pick up on a scent or hormone. The male turtles would then try to bite the female’s tail, as well as her marginal scutes and face. Males were observed shaking their heads from side to side while in front of the female, thereafter, trying to bite the female’s face. Again, I witnessed these activities sometimes in the mornings and evenings. There has not been any evidence of individuals being territorial or aggressive towards each other at the HCRC, including male to male, until this recent observation. The only aggression noticed was between dominant males and a female that may have been ready to mate.
Copulation: I noticed that one of the male turtles would try to jump onto the female turtle when they were a little deeper in the water and hook on. The female would then walk into the shallow water around the edge, so the male’s carapace was out of the water a bit. I used this time to take some photos and videos. I also noticed that before mating, the male would try to drag the female a little deeper into the water as opposed to the shallow edge. Being that this activity happened around the edge of the pond, the turtles made the water very murky by disturbing the dirt present. During this time, I only observed the mating twice. I also noticed that the female involved in the copulation did not seem to want to go deeper in the water. She somewhat preferred to stay around the edge of the pond and seemed stressed.
Image One: Thomas Pop, HCRC Manager (photo by Heather Barrett) Image Two: Male Hicatee mating with a female Hicatee at the HCRC (photo by Thomas Pop)
Jonathan’s account of D. mawii laying eggs:
On December 22nd, 2021, around 7:30 am, I opened the gate to the HCRC and checked around the breeding ponds for nests that might have been deposited overnight. I was stopped in my tracks when I noticed a female Hicatee on land, digging a nest hole with her hind legs. I stood still and remained quiet so as not scare the turtle. She also remained still, and after about a minute or two, she continued to clear out the nest hole. I carefully snuck up behind her and took out my phone to document the occasion.
At first, I was stooping down but my knees started to ache, so I sat down. After a little while, I laid down a few feet behind her so that I could get some great angles of the event. She continued to remove dirt from the nest hole for 15-20 more minutes. She then laid the first of a total six (6) eggs at around 8:05 am. I noticed that she would place one of her hind legs in the hole when she was laying, to hold and gently lower the egg into the hole. After placing the egg down, she would use her hind legs, switching between the two, to move the egg around and gently set it in place. She repeated these actions in the same way for all six eggs. By 8:30 am, approximately 25 minutes later, she was finished laying.
After setting the final egg in place, she then began to pull dirt with her hind legs from around the hole to cover it. It took her around seven minutes to cover the nest with dirt while slightly compacting it. After covering up the nest, she slowly turned around and made her way back into the water, at the 8:37 am mark.
To my surprise, she did not seem bothered by my presence. I do know that some sea turtles allow you to observe and even touch them while they are laying eggs, but I was not sure if Hicatee turtles would do the same. I did not want to risk scaring her, so I played it safe and tried to remain invisible and quiet throughout the activity.
Image One: Jonathan Dubon, BFREE Fellow. (photo by Heather Barrett) Image Two: Female Hicatee at the HCRC digging a nest hole. (photo by Jonathan Dubon) Image Three: Female Hicatee depositing egg into the nest. (photo by Jonathan Dubon)
Why these observations are important:
BFREE Executive Director, Jacob Marlin, was very impressed by the incredible observation and documentation skills of Tom and Jonathan. He stated, “The documentation of courtship, breeding and nesting demonstrates one of the many benefits of developing the HCRC. This species has very secretive habits and barely comes out of the water, even to nest. These events have never been documented in the wild and without the Hicatee Conservation and Research Center and its dedicated staff, this incredible behavior would likely continue to elude science.”
Watch a short video of the events described by Tom and Jonathan at the HCRC.
About the Hicatee Conservation and Research Center:
BFREE is home to the Hicatee Conservation and Research Center (HCRC), a captive breeding facility for the Central American River Turtle, Dermatemys mawii, locally known in Belize as the Hicatee. The Hicatee is classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List and is listed in the report, “Turtles in Trouble: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles – 2018,” by the Turtle Conservation Coalition. The HCRC was established along with the support of the Turtle Survival Alliance in 2011. Over the last ten years, the team has grown to include several additional partners working together to study reproductive biology, nesting ecology, and the feasibility of breeding Hicatee in captivity. To learn more about BFREE’s work in protecting the Hicatee, visit www.bfreebz.org/research/#hicatee
Photography and Videos by Thomas Pop and Jonathan Dubon. Video compilation by Jonathan Dubon.
https://www.bfreebz.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Thomas-Pop-by-HBarrett-2-scaled.jpg25601920Jonathan Dubon and Thomas Pop https://www.bfreebz.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Logo-1080.pngJonathan Dubon and Thomas Pop 2022-02-04 20:24:002022-02-08 18:45:47Documenting Dermatemys mawii courtship, breeding, and nesting
Please join BFREE and the Hicatee Awareness Planning Committee in celebrating the 5th Annual Hicatee Awareness Month this October!
The Hicatee turtle is the only living species in an ancient family dating back 65 million years. This turtle has outlived the dinosaurs! Unfortunately, the Hicatee now faces a high risk of extinction due to overhunting. The Hicatee needs greater protection.
Hicatee Awareness Month began in 2017 by BFREE with support from our partner the Turtle Survival Alliance. Each year, the month-long celebration grows as more people become aware of our national treasure, the Hicatee turtle.
Since 2017, Hicatee Awareness Month milestones include:
More than 2,000 pages of printed educational materials, including fact sheets, coloring pages, writing prompts, and more, have been delivered to educators across Belize.
Those same educational materials are made available for free online in our Online Toolkit and emailed to more than 500 principals and teachers each year.
We have distributed 400 Save the Hicatee t-shirts, 3,400 stickers, 100 “Hope for Belize’s Hicatee” DVD’s, and 60 “Herbert the Hicatee” books.
Hicatee Hero volunteers hosted over 50 public events and classroom visits.
More than 15 features on radio, TV, and in printed magazines and newspapers.
The creation of “Mr. Hicatee,” a catchy sing-along video and song.
In 2020, we created the Hicatee Awareness Month planning committee in order to better reach Belizeans country-wide. This is an all-volunteer committee made up of BFREE staff and local artists, conservationists, professionals, primary and college teachers, and parents.
Interested in learning more about the Hicatee turtle and participate in virtual activities during October and year-round? Then follow BFREE Belize on social media!
Congratulations to BFREE’s first Wildlife Fellow alum, Jaren Serano, who recently graduated with honors from Jacksonville University. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Sustainability and Minor in Biology in June 2021.
Jaren helped launch the BFREE Science and Education Fellowship Program in January 2018. With the support of the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), Jaren spent the two-years in the new work-training program. He learned to support the operations of the HCRC and he also had the opportunity to glean knowledge from the many amazing visitors to the field station. He participated in and presented to field courses with students from all over the world, he assisted visiting researchers and helped implement outreach programs.
During his second year, he began presenting at professional conferences in Belize. In August 2019, he traveled to Tucson, Arizona with Tom Pop, Jacob Marlin, and Heather Barrett to present at the 17th Annual Symposium on the Conservation Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles. Jaren’s ten-minute talk received a standing ovation and he was awarded Best Student Presentation. That symposium was critical to Jaren’s next steps because the team re-connected with Dr. John Enz of Jacksonville University (JU) who brings student groups to BFREE. John learned that Jaren was applying to schools in the U.S. to complete his Bachelor’s degree and suggested that Jaren apply to JU.
With the help of an amazing GoFundMe campaign, which many of you supported, and a substantial scholarship from JU, Jaren was able to enter college in January 2020 – just in time for a global pandemic. In spite of many challenges, Jaren excelled in his courses and was an active contributor in the classroom and a role model to other students. During his summers, Jaren returned to Belize and BFREE where he assisted with field research relating to the Hicatee, helped with projects at the HCRC, and, most recently, participated in the TSA-North American Freshwater Turtle Research Group (NAFTRG) turtle survey of the BFREE reserve.
Jaren will begin graduate school at the University of Florida this month. Jaren received a full-tuition scholarship through the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars program and secured a research assistantship to cover additional costs. Jaren will work under the advisement of another BFREE partner, Dr. Ray Carthy, in the department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. Jaren’s research will examine how human interventions such as beach renourishment impacts natural coastal processes and resilience. Primarily, he will examine how gas exchange relates to sea turtle nesting, dune building, and carbon sequestration.
We are incredibly grateful to all those who have supported Jaren and cheered him on throughout his journey. A special thanks to Turtle Survival Alliance’s Board of Directors without whom Jaren’s Fellowship would not have been possible. Also, to John Enz and Ray Carthy for being incredible BFREE partners and mentors to the BFREE staff. Thanks to Day Ligon and Denise Thompson for their support and tutelage of Jaren and other BFREE staff over the past few years. Finally, thanks to the many donors who supported Jaren’s GoFundMe campaign. Each and every one of your gifts mattered!
Holding a snail eating snake
Releasing a Mesoamerican slider
Tom Pop and Jaren heading into the field
Andy Weber, Jaren, Heather Barrett and Jacob Marlin during the TSA-NAFTRG survey
Jaren holds a turtle while Tom Pop places the PIT-tag
https://www.bfreebz.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Jaren-2.jpg15361536Heather Barretthttps://www.bfreebz.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Logo-1080.pngHeather Barrett2021-08-18 20:37:302021-09-20 21:33:18Congratulations to Jaren Serano, BFREE’s first Wildlife Fellow alum!
During the September 2020 Health Assessment wearing his Hicatee Hero cape
With Jacob Marlin during the February 2021 Hicatee Health Assessment
With a hatchling Tabasco mud turtle during the TSA-NAFTRG survey of the BFREE reserve
Jonathan Dubon is the second Wildlife Fellow to take part in the BFREE Fellowship Program. Jonathan began working with BFREE in June 2020, immediately after the shelter-in-place order was lifted in Belize. He assists Tom Pop at the Hicatee Conservation and Research Center (HCRC), and although his program began during the COVID pandemic, his first year has been a productive one.
Under the mentorship of Tom Pop, Jonathan has learned how to feed and care for all turtles at the HCRC. He has learned to look for signs of stress and illness and to collect morphometric data during the bi-annual health assessments. He has worked closely with Tom on several projects to upgrade the facility; the most notable have been improvements to the nesting areas and the water movement.
Additionally, Jonathan has been responsible for updating and managing an ongoing census of the captive population of Hicatee turtles in residence at the HCRC. With hundreds of turtles hatching each year and with the recent turtle releases, this is no easy task. The information is constantly changing, so he has to review the data regularly to ensure accuracy. He has taken on the essential responsibilities of creating quarterly reports of activities affiliated with the HCRC, water quality testing at the HCRC, and managing the weather data for the entire field station.
Working with radio-tracking devices to better understand what happens to hicatee in the wild.
Over the past year, Jonathan has both led and co-presented on several virtual presentations. On August 27th at 12:15 EDT, he will present virtually at the 19th Annual Symposium on the Conservation of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles. His talk is “Environmental Education and Re-wilding of the Critically Endangered Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys mawii) During the 2020 Pandemic.” He will discuss his role in the newly formed Hicatee Awareness Month planning committee and will highlight last October’s awareness campaign. He will also describe the release of the HCRC’s first re-wilded Hicatee turtles and one of the associated community outreach events. To learn more about attending the conference or to see Jonathan’s presentation visit our partner’s website and register for free here:
Jonathan has spent the last month in the field monitoring the movements of 25 recently re-wilded turtles from the 2021 hatchling cohort. He and our partners from Belize Turtle Ecology Lab are radio-tracking turtles to begin to understand how far they travel from their release point, what their habitat preferences are, and how they fare after being released.
In addition to turtles, Jonathan has an interest in snakes and large cats. In his final year as Wildlife Fellow, he hopes to work more directly with the large mammal camera trapping project. With new Panthera cameras stationed throughout the property, his involvement will likely become a reality in the very near future.
Pit-tagging a Mesoamerican slider
Fellow’s Ranger training weekend
Holding an adult female Hicatee
Collecting Hicatee eggs from the ponds
https://www.bfreebz.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/IMG_0406-2-scaled.jpg25601920Heather Barretthttps://www.bfreebz.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Logo-1080.pngHeather Barrett2021-08-18 20:30:192021-08-19 23:58:59Wildlife Fellow, Jonathan Dubon Embarks on 2nd Year
Last month, the BFREE reserve became the focus of a mark-recapture survey by the Turtle Survival Alliance’s – North American Freshwater Turtle Research Group (TSA-NAFTRG). After a year’s delay due to the COVID pandemic, the team was thrilled to get approval from Belize Fisheries Department to implement their research.
The TSA-NAFTRG team’s goals included establishing safe protocols for surveying freshwater turtles on the property, training BFREE staff on those methods, locating appropriate long-term survey sites and completing an initial assessment. Their timing couldn’t have been better: with the onset of rainy season, creeks were flowing, puddles formed regularly and turtles were everywhere.
The TSA-NAFTRG team of Eric Munscher, Arron Tuggle, Andy Weber, Collin McAvinchey, and J. Brian Hauge were joined by BFREE staff, Tom Pop, and Jonathan Dubon as well as BFREE Fellowship Program Alum, Jaren Serano, who helped with the survey just prior to returning to the U.S. for grad school. TSA COO, Andrew Walde, and TSA Board Member/ WCS Coordinator for Turtle Conservation, Brian Horne, were also present and able to spend time in the field during the survey.
This initial assessment was deemed an incredible success with 227 turtles captured, marked, measured and safely released. Turtles found included Meso-American Slider, White-lipped Mud Turtle, Tabasco Mud Turtle, Scorpion Mud Turtle, Mexican Giant Musk Turtle, Central American Snapping Turtle, and the Furrowed Wood Turtle – representing seven of Belize’s nine freshwater turtles. (Fun fact: the Central American River turtle/ Hicatee is the only Belizean freshwater turtle that does not naturally occur on the BFREE reserve!)
We are grateful to the TSA-NAFTRG team for supplying us with the expertise and field equipment needed to ensure this survey continues and we look forward to their return trip next July!
Andy Weber with a Northern Giant Musk Turtle
Jaren Serano and Jonathan Dubon insert a PIT-tag into a Mesoamerican Slider
Collin McAvinchey with a Furrowed Wood Turtle
Back Row – L to R – Andy, Jacob, Heather, Brian, and Arron Front Row – L to R – Collin, Jaren and Eric
Jacob introduces the team to the BFREE Lab
Tom Pop with two Northern Giant Musk Turtles
Brian Hague and Eric Munscher measure a female Central American Snapping Turtle
Jaren Serano, Arron Tuggle and Eric Munscher head out to check one of their survey areas
https://www.bfreebz.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/DSC_0515-1-scaled.jpg17072560Heather Barretthttps://www.bfreebz.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Logo-1080.pngHeather Barrett2021-08-10 14:35:092021-08-10 14:35:13TSA-NAFTRG Turtle Survey at BFREE
Over the last six years, the Hicatee Conservation and Research Center (HCRC) population of critically endangered Central American River Turtles, Dermatemys mawii, has grown from the 22 founding adults and subadults to 45 breeding adults. Sixty-four clutches of eggs have been deposited from 23 reproductive females resulting in 693 eggs, and over 650 hatchlings. The total current captive population at the HCRC is 345 individuals. Of them, 282 turtles representing 4 cohorts (2017, 2018, 2019, 2020) have been identified for release.
The 2020/2021 egg laying season is almost complete, and in addition to the numbers mentioned above, we have added 15 clutches totaling almost 150 eggs so far. Our success in breeding and hatching large numbers of D. mawii has provided extensive morphometric data on hatchlings, determined best practices for reliably reproducing the species in captivity, and pushed us towards advancing the next phase of the project which is reintroduction of head-started animals back to their historic range. As part of that initiative, surveys of various rivers were initiated in 2019, and continued in 2020, to help identify potential release sites. In preparation for releases, disease testing of animals raised in captivity is a priority to ensure that they do not pose a health risk to existing wild D. mawii populations.
The Value of Health Assessments
Both individual and population level health screening are important considerations for these programs to ensure that the individuals selected for release are healthy and fit to increase their likelihood of survival post-release, as well as do not pose a health risk to remnant wild populations. Health assessment and pathogen screening also provide baseline data and a reference point for understanding disease ecology in captive and free-ranging animal populations.
With all this in mind, our spring 2021 Hicatee Health Assessment was geared toward sampling a subset of captive turtles in different age classes to collect samples for later diagnosis specifically looking for pathogens. The HCRC Manager, Thomas Pop, along with HCRC Assistant and Wildlife Fellow, Jonathan Dubon, implemented the health assessment with the support of Jacob Marlin and Heather Barrett.
Prior to our Health Assessment at the HCRC, the team joined up with Day Ligon and Denise Thompson in Central Belize to collect samples from a group of wild individuals to provide a reference and for comparison. All samples were collected under a permit provided by the Belize Fisheries department. Samples will be exported from Belize to the USA, and will be analyzed in a lab in the Wildlife Conservation Society Molecular Laboratory at the Bronx Zoo in New York.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to our project partners who made these important events possible.
Turtle Survival Alliance
Turtle Conservation Fund
Global Wildlife Conservation
Wildlife Conservation Society
Jacksonville Zoo
Day Ligon and Denise Thompson
https://www.bfreebz.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/IMG_8453-2-scaled.jpg25601831Heather Barretthttps://www.bfreebz.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Logo-1080.pngHeather Barrett2021-03-12 15:23:002021-03-26 15:33:43March 2021 Hicatee Health Assessment
HCRC Manager, Tom Pop and Wildlife Fellow, Jonathan Dubon hold eggs they collected from the Hicatee ponds.
As the dry season rapidly approaches, we at the HCRC have a lot of work on our hands to keep our program running at its best. We have several mini-projects currently being conducted, such as improving the husbandry, daily maintenance of the site, taking care of about 400 critically endangered Hicatee turtles, and managing 100+ eggs (so far this year)! We also spend our time brainstorming ways to improve water quality to help our turtles live healthy and happy. One of the ideas we are implementing is improving solar energy to pump more freshwater into the ponds by building a solar tower. We have dug and constructed the foundation for the tower, and in the coming weeks, we plan to finish constructing the braces and the tower itself.
Nesting Season
A clutch of eggs collected during the 2020-2021 nesting season.
The nesting season began in early November 2020, and we have since collected 12 clutches of eggs or 108 total eggs. We recently discovered the 13th clutch; however, we will not collect it yet and are conducting a natural hatchment experiment on it first. We are unsure how many eggs are in this clutch, but I estimate anywhere between 7-11. Tom Pop, HCRC Manager, and I have also found three old clutches of eggs from last season which may not have been fertile. Adding up every clutch, our grand total is nearly 1,000 Hicatee eggs laid at our breeding facility!
Wildlife at the Turtle Ponds
Working at the HCRC in the middle of the jungle has its many benefits. Not only do we get to see cute and adorable Hicatee turtles every day (yes, we all think they are adorable), we also see other exciting wildlife. Most common are green iguanas, pond sliders, the great curassow, crested guan, cat-eyed snakes, and speckled racers. Tom and I were recently pruning the fig trees around the turtle ponds when we heard some familiar birds in the trees not too far from us. We listened as we continued our work, and the calls were getting louder and louder. As we looked up, we saw a huge flock of beautiful and magnificent Scarlet macaws that had flown directly above us. We immediately looked up and started counting at least 20 macaws perched above the turtle ponds, so close we could see them clearly, even without binoculars. If you thought it couldn’t get better, it does! A few months ago, I witnessed my first wild Harpy eagle perched on a tree in the cacao farm just a few meters from the HCRC. An amazing lifer, right!?
It will be a full year since I started my fellowship position at BFREE this June. I’ve enjoyed witnessing all of the seasonal changes, the wildlife, and the opportunity to learn more about the Hicatee turtle.
Jonathan, Tom, and Jacob stand at the new solar tower site at the HCRC in February 2021.
Jonathan completes water quality tests at the HCRC.
https://www.bfreebz.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/62685532-d00a-417b-9f6a-d6de137b51e7.jpg7681024Jonathan Dubonhttps://www.bfreebz.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Logo-1080.pngJonathan Dubon2021-03-02 20:18:032021-03-03 18:21:04Dry Season at the Turtle Ponds by Jonathan Dubon
By Ms. Ornella Cadle, Hicatee Awareness Month Committee Coordinator
Proud Hicatee Heroes show off the coloring sheet and board game included in this year’s educational materials.
Each October, BFREE ambassadors and partners visit schools to present on Hicatee Awareness Month. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, outreach looked a bit different this year. While traveling to various schools for outreach wasn’t a safe option, we wanted to ensure the incredible resources still reached students’ hands across the country. BFREE emailed electronic resources directly to over 400 principals and teachers in Belize. The following schools in the Cayo, Stann Creek, and Toledo Districts received resource packets reaching nearly 500 students in their classrooms.
Church of Christ Primary School, Independence Village, Stann Creek District
Moriah Learning Center, Independence Village, Stann Creek District
Shiloh Seventh-Day Adventist School, Independence Village, Stann Creek District
Golden Stream Government School, Golden Stream Village, Toledo District
Belize Rural Primary School, Rancho Dolores Village, Cayo District
A dedicated committee of volunteers and BFREE staff members created this year’s resource materials. The committee met for several months to build a packet of creative, engaging, and informative educational resources.
A highlight of the materials included;
Coloring sheet of the Hicatee Hero mascot
“Hicatee and Ladder Migration Game,” displaying different predators for the hicatee that you must pass by answering true and false questions correctly.
“Mr. Hicatee” sing-along video featuring a conversation between Mr. Hicatee and a man named Damien who wants to learn more about the problems that Mr. Hicatee encounters in his daily life and how he can help.
Educators from Moriah Learning Center, Shiloh Seventh-Day Adventist School, and Church of Christ Primary School hold the Hicatee conservation educational materials delivered to them for their classrooms.
Various news sources including, Breaking Belize News, The Reporter Newspaper, Cayo Scoop, and Heritage Education Network Belize, have featured Hicatee Awareness Month materials throughout the month. Hicatee Awareness Month Planning Committee Coordinator Nelly Cadle says, “I am very proud to be the Committee Coordinator and work with such a talented group of people. I truly believe that our hard work has paid off and that we could reach a lot of young students. However, our job is not done, we still have more work to do to save the Hicatee, and I look forward to continuing our efforts to conserve this national treasure of Belize!”
We would like to say a special thank you to our friends – the Hicatee Heroes at Santa Fe College’s Teaching Zoo in Gainesville, Florida. Their Quarters for Conservation project helped fund the production of all materials for this year’s Hicatee Awareness Month.
I’m a Hicatee Hero! Are You? This fun video features young Hicatee Heroes from across all six districts in Belize making the Hicatee Promise. Produced by, Monique Vernon and edited by, Simon Deniard. Hicatee Graphic by Belizario Gian Carballo.
https://www.bfreebz.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/49c6d8e3-a9b3-4028-9c4c-fc54f7d1ab89.jpg1280960Nelly Cadlehttps://www.bfreebz.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Logo-1080.pngNelly Cadle2020-11-02 16:08:592020-11-02 17:58:15Educational materials shared with young Belizeans across the country!
