Bolson Tortoise Preserve

Revolutionizing Tortoise Surveys: Drones and AI Team Up to Protect Bolson Tortoises

Revolutionizing Tortoise Surveys: Drones and AI Team Up to Protect Bolson Tortoises

In the fast-evolving world of technology, artificial intelligence has found its way into an unexpected realm—turtle conservation. An initiative led by the Turtle Conservancy, in collaboration with HABIO and Resi, the firm founded by Matt Bandy, brought together a team comprising Rosalinda Palomo Ramos, Matt Bandy, Michael Tuma, and Ross Kiester (myself). Our mission took us to the Turtle Conservancy's Bolson Tortoise Preserve in Bolson de Mapimí, where we harnessed the power of drones and AI to estimate tortoise populations.

Updates from Mexico and South Africa

Updates from Mexico and South Africa

As seasonal rains have renewed the lush habitat at our Bolson Tortoise Reserve in Northern Mexico and our Geometric Tortoise Preserve in Western Cape South Africa, infrastructural improvements are ongoing to combat unique risks these rare and vulnerable tortoise populations face.


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18,850 Acres of Critical Wildlife Habitat Secured in Northern Mexico!

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18,850 Acres of Critical Wildlife Habitat Secured in Northern Mexico!

The Turtle Conservancy, HABIO A.C., Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC), and Rainforest Trust partnered on a deal to purchase an 18,850-acre former cattle ranch in Mexico’s Chihuahuan Desert, which will be converted into a desert-grassland wildlife refuge. Endemic lizards, critically-endangered Bolson tortoises, migratory birds, and a variety of resident mammals are among the many species of animals set to benefit from the preservation of this biodiverse landscape, showing again how saving turtles can save the planet.

This habitat bolsters the land the Turtle Conservancy and partners protect for wildlife in the region to 62,439 acres, nearly 4 ½ times the size of Manhattan!

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News From the Field

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News From the Field

In early May, TC Board Chair Anders Rhodin and TC field programs director Peter Paul van Dijk visited Mexico to evaluate progress in management of the Bolson Tortoise Ecosystem Preserve by the TC’s local affiliate HABIO, A.C. Working with HABIO’s treasurer Judith Rios, progress was made towards full-time management of the Preserve, while we also continue to work towards possible future expansion of strictly protected areas for Bolson Tortoises. Among the highlights were the opportunity provided by our colleague Gamaliel Castañeda to give presentations to a large gathering of students and staff of the Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango at Gomez Palacio; Anders spoke about the conservation status of tortoises and freshwater turtles world-wide, while Peter Paul spoke about the opportunities and challenges of private protected areas for biodiversity conservation... 

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Bolson Tortoise Preserve Update

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Bolson Tortoise Preserve Update

In mid-June, a team of researchers from TC and HABIO, TC’s Mexican sister organization, spent nearly a week in Mexico’s Bolson de Mapimí to survey the Critically Endangered Bolson Tortoise. In 2016, HABIO and TC purchased the 43,000-acre San Ignacio Ranch at the heart of Mexico’s Bolson de Mapimí desert plateau; at the time the ranch was understood to be inhabited by a good population of tortoises, but no systematic population survey has ever been carried out…

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