This study analyzed the territorial occupation of cattle ponds by turtles and established the relationship that this habitat has with local conservation in a human impacted zone in the Gulf of Morrosquillo, Sucre, Colombia. Sixty-five cattle ponds were selected, with an area greater than 1,000 m2; and a representative sample of 12 randomly selected waterholes that were not connected was used. The population data were collected with samples taken between January and March of 2014, between 08:00 and 12:00 p.m., using a trammel net that was100 m long and 6 m wide with 5 cm mesh. Two sweeps were carried out for each session, covering 90 % of the area of each pond. A population of 383 individuals was obtained: 241 Trachemys callirostris , 66 Kinosternon scorpioides , and 76 Mesoclemmys dahli . The estimated population calculated for each species was obtained with the Lincoln-Petersen method, obtaining estimated populations of 259 for T. callirostris , 82 for K. scorpiodes and 62 for M. dahli .