Pronatura is a Mexican non profit organization that has worked for more than a decade in priority areas of the Yucatan Peninsula; particularly, in the Biosphere Reserves of Ria Celestun, Ria Lagartos and Calakmul, as well as in the Flora and Fauna Protection Areas of Yum Balam and Otoch Ma'ax Yetel Kooh. Recently, PPY began an ecorregional strategy and is implementing projects in the Biosphere Reserve of Los Petenes, in the State Reserve El Palmar and in the forest mass of the municipality of Calakmul.

Merida was host to Wild 9 Yucatan from November 6 til the 13 with delegates from around the world and keynote presentations by Dr. Jane Goodall, Nick Nichols, Amory Lovins.

The Yucatan peninsula is famous worldwide for its Mayan heritage and the numerous remnants of their splendor. But centuries of history of this outstanding civilization have eclipsed the wild side of a region that hosts an extraordinary diversity of species and that treasures one of the last essential wilderness in Mexico: the Mayan Jungle, a vast track of forest that is accounted as the second largest extension of tropical forest in the Western Hemisphere and recognized worldwide as the one of the cores of the Mesoamerican hotspot.

Moreover, Yucatan hosts one of the biggest unexplored wildernesses on Earth: the underground system of freshwater channels that arise on surface creating the cenotes. In addition, numerous ecosystems are found in the peninsula, each one hosting a treasure of biodiversity. Nesting colonies of flamingos are found in vast wetlands and mangroves that burst with other birdlife –over 540 species of birds can be found in Yucatan–. Manatees float in the coastal lagoons formed by the Mesoamerican Reef, largest in the Atlantic and second largest in the world and an explosion of marine life. Pristine white sand beaches limit the end of the thick lowland jungle that is home for howler monkeys, tapirs, anteaters and the biggest abundance and diversity of wild felines in the country –accounting all species in Mexico except the bobcat—, and above all, the hidden presence of the magnificent jaguar, the iconic top predator of the region.

strombus gigas

When you're travel across the Yucatan aside from the road kill on the Cancun highway you might not be aware of the many protected species in our seas and forrest. I first became aware of Pronatura through the owners of the Hacienda Santo Domingo de Yunku who come each year to study the spider monkeys in Punta Laguna. They work to preserve the flora and fauna of the Yucatan from the whale sharks who come to Holbox each fall to the Hawksbill sea turtles that lay their eggs each summer on our beaches. Whether you're going to see the Flamingo's of Celestun and Ria Lagartos or just to the zoo at Centenario chances are you owe a debt of gratitude to Pronatura for their work to preserve the coast wetlands and the Mayan Forests.

Pronatura's gallery of photos of protected species in the Yucatan can be seen here

They are solitary animals that communicate by hissing sounds and a very potent odor produced from the anal gland. As a result, they are sometimes referred to as "stinker of the forest."

Good to know!

While googling for whale sharks I came upon Yucatan Wild Life, a website that documents all the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish with lots of links and articles and lists of what fish your likely to see when diving in cozumel or eating in Progresso.

Or you can swim with the whale sharks each spring inHolbox or Cozumel

You'll find these guys wandering around the ruins and in the soup if you're invited to lunch in a Mayan home.

If you're planning to drive from Tulum to Merida then you'll pass by Punta Laguna. Here is a spider monkey reserve that you can visit near the ruins of Coba.

phrynohyas venulosa



We once thought these were UFO's landing at the hacienda in Yunku. Turns out they weren't landing after all.

leafcutter ants

ants