Granja de Tortugas (Turtle Farm)

We spent several hours one morning at the Granja de Tortugas, a turtle rearing facility near Nacajuca. Think fish hatchery but for turtles. Since so many people still eat turtles in coastal Tabasco, many have become endangered, and so the state government raises them for release into protected areas. We had a great tour of the ponds, incubation room, and baby rearing facilities.



These baby turtles were unique in that when they are little they have a Virgin of Guadalupe on their plastron (lower shell). It gets more blurry and less distinct they get older.







Of course since this was a protected area, there were lots of birds at the ponds as well--including nesting Linneated Woodpecker, Golden-fronted Woodpecker, and both Ruddy Ground Dove and Plain Ground Dove. Here's a ground dove nest right at waist height in a hedge along a walkway!


We also had several Aztec Parakeets flying around, as well as Black-bellied Whistling Duck (Chontal: mixix). The trees were also filled with iguanas.