Cayman Turtle Farm

West Bay
Grand Cayman
Grand Cayman
Cayman Island
345-949-3893 or 949-3894

Type: Theme Park
Hours: Hours: 9 am to 5 pm daily

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Along with Stingray City, the Cayman Turtle Farm is one of the island’s top attractions. It’s the only farm of its kind in the world and for over 30 years this site has offered visitors the chance to get up close and personal with green sea turtles. Allow about 45 minutes to tour the farm. The farm displays the life cycle of the green sea turtle from birth through the breeding stage. Eggs, which are laid by the big breeder turtles on a sand beach at the farm, are incubated in the nursery. The hatchlings live in tanks and are fed a high-protein pelleted diet similar in appearance to dog food. This accounts for the rapid growth of the farm’s turtles compared to their relatives in the wild. The self-guided tour of the turtle farm takes you past many tanks filled with turtles in various life stages. A special tank contains turtles that you may pick up and hold, an excellent photo opportunity. Reach down and clutch the turtle’s body just behind his front flippers. He’ll flip and flap around, trying to swim away in mid-air, unless you hold him vertically. The turtle farm also recognizes the land residents of the Cayman Islands in several exhibit areas. Look for the agouti or the Cayman “rabbit” in one area. These rodents, found in the eastern districts of Grand Cayman, have long, thin legs and hoof-like claws, with three toes on their hind feet and five toes on the forefeet. Once a food source, today the rodents are rarely spotted. Nearby, another area houses a display of the American crocodile. Early records speak of sightings of this 20-foot crocodile in Grand Cayman and Little Cayman; recent archaeological finds have proven this claim to be true. The last stop on the tour is the extensive gift shop. You might be shocked to see turtle steak and turtle shells for sale in the shop. Remember, however, that this is a working farm. Many turtles are released into the sea every year, although others find their way onto Cayman dinner tables. The turtle plays a role in the Cayman diet and culture much like the turkey in the United States. Much of the turtle meat served at local restaurants comes from the Cayman Turtle Farm. The farm defends its efforts and points out that by providing turtle meat – a longtime Caymanian favorite – to the local market, it diminishes the need for turtle hunting. Also, the survival rate at the farm is much higher than in the wild (here, nine out of every 10 turtles survive, as compared to one out of 10 in the sea). The Cayman Turtle Farm was hit by Hurricane Michelle in 2001, destroying several of the larger tanks. Today the farm is working to create a new and larger attraction just across the street, moving the turtles farther from the sea to a more secure location. Plans call for an extensive attraction that will give visitors the opportunity to swim with turtles. They expect the project to be completed in 2004.