Marina Chiapas has a lot going for it, including a small habitat around back of the restaurant, in which volunteers rehabilitate and then release back in to the wild the 2 species of turtles found in the estuary. Here we see (1) their fenced enclosure on the marina grounds - complete with its very own palapa; as well as (2) a poorly-taken pic of an annoyed turtle trying to escape the sun's glare and cursing at me in Spanish.
These interpretive signs explain which turtles one may looking at. For the Spanish-lite, the sign for the Casquito huacalero, aka the red-cheeked mud turtle, roughly translates as "Lives in areas with very slow currents, like ponds, swamps and puddles. Commonly seen on land especially in damp areas hidden under foliage or looking for food. They prefer hiding themselves in mud where they remain totally undetected. In the wild they eat insects, mollusks, dead fish and carrion; they do not usually eat vegetable matter. Not a species that has problems, not susceptible to diseases, lives without problems with other species, and adapts easily to captivity. Ranges from Mexico to Panama; subspecies "abaxillare" lives only in Chiapas."
Now, to compare: your Chopontil or Almizclera is your narrow-bridged musk turtle. Its sign reads, roughly, "Lives in shallow water with muddy bottoms and much aquatic vegetation. Commonly found in areas with slow currents and swampy areas. In the wild they basically eat crustaceans, shellfish, swamp insects, aquatic plants, injured parrots, small mammals. They are opportunistic scavengers and rarely are fish in their main diet. They have very robust and strong webbed feet, exterior grey with a cream interior; in the upper jaw can be seen 3 rigid protuberances that look like small tusks. We can find a false tusk in the center of the mandible and on each side. Lives in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize."
<--- For the birders among you, there are opportunities to see all kinds of tropical avian species in and around the marina. Like, for example, these white-throated magpie jays with their flamboyant crests. Sorry, no telephoto pics because I'm a lazy, lazy photographer.
m
Comments