page_title: Hickatee
section_title: Captive turtle breeding program in Belize
hierarchical_section_title: Hickatee / Captive turtle breeding program in Belize
caption_attribution_description: Čeština: Zoo Praha
context_page_description: The Central American river turtle, also known locally as the hickatee or tortuga blanca, is the only living species in the family Dermatemydidae. Its closest relatives are only known from fossils with some 19 genera described from a worldwide distribution from the Jurassic and Cretaceous. The species is currently found in the Atlantic drainages of Central America, specifically southern Mexico, Belize and Guatemala. It is a relatively large-bodied species, with historical records of 60 cm stright carapace length and weights of 22 kg; however, more recent records have found few individuals over 14 kg in Mexico or 11 kg in Guatemala.
context_section_description: A study, managed by the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) and conducted on Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education (BFREE) property in Belize, began in early 2011 and is a low-maintenance operation focused on generating Dermatemys food plants, while exploring husbandry details, such as egg laying and incubation. Located in southern Belize along the Bladen River, BFREE encompasses 1,200 acres (4.9 km²) of forest and is situated among four protected areas (Bladen Nature Reserve, Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Reserve, Deep River Forest Reserve and Maya Mountain Forest Reserve), which enhances the possibility of a successful breeding program.
  The goal of the program is to generate hatchlings and release them to repopulate already depleted wild populations and, ultimately, relieve pressures of local populations. The program has the potential to be expanded once it is determined whether the species can be reliably reproduced in good numbers in captivity.
caption: Central American river turtle in Prague Zoo
exif: {"Image ImageWidth": "3600", "Image ImageLength": "2400", "Image Compression": "Uncompressed", "Image PhotometricInterpretation": "6", "Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 1000D", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image PlanarConfiguration": "1", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2013:02:05 20:52:16", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "240", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail DateTime": "2013:02:05 20:52:16", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "9170", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4017", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/4", "EXIF FNumber": "28/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Unidentified", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "800", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2010:04:12 13:59:52", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2010:04:12 13:59:52", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "2", "EXIF ApertureValue": "5", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "55", "EXIF SubSecTime": "03", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "03", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "03", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3600", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2400", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "324000/73", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "2592000/583", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "9002"}