Connecting with local communities is key to achieving long-term success in turtle conservation. In the Calakmul region of Campeche, we partner with the local conservation group Students Conserving Nature and PhD graduate Carlos Mauricio Delgado Martínez to support critical turtle conservation efforts.
Carlos’s research focuses on determining population sizes for seven local turtle species and developing a community-supported plan to reduce turtle road mortality, a growing threat even within protected natural areas.
Because turtles mature slowly and produce relatively few offspring that survive to adulthood, the loss of even a small number of breeding adults to vehicle collisions can have significant long-term impacts on wild populations.
To help raise awareness of this issue, Carlos created a short comic book that illustrates the challenges turtles face and shares simple actions people can take to help protect them. Although Calakmul is home to nine species of freshwater and terrestrial turtles, they had received little to no attention prior to this project. The comic’s two turtle characters represent species that are particularly vulnerable to road mortality in the region.
You can read the comic in English or in Spanish, but the message is universal: turtles could all use our help.
The comic has now been distributed to schools across the region, encouraging safer driving, inspiring young conservationists, and fostering a culture of stewardship that extends beyond the classroom.
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