The Belize Zoo was an important visit for me because Jay and I both read The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw, which is about Sharon Matola's fight against a dam. Sharon is the woman who created the Belize Zoo, so the book includes a lot of information about the zoo and the collection of native Belizian animals that live in the zoo. Each animal has a story of rescue, and each animal would not be alive if it weren't for the zoo and Sharon's efforts. Sharon's right-hand-man at the Zoo is Tony, and he was our tour guide!!! Here is a Lonely Planet review of the zoo: Belize Zoo Background. The zoo exceeded my expectations. What follows is a virtual tour of the zoo. Enjoy!!
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| A little shrine of books.... |
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| The whole zoo is in the jungle. I think that's why the animals are so happy. They live in their jungle, with its temperature, moisture, sounds, smells. They are home. |
The Zoo Education Center
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| West Indian Manatee skeleton. |
Balboa the 10-year-old Boa Constrictor
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| Tony headed to get the little boa..... |
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| I meet Balboa. |
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| Balboa is beautiful and wonderful. He wrapped my wrist like a bracelet with his tail. |
The King Vulture
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| The vulture is in there somewhere.... |
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| Just had to go around the corner. There he/she is! |
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| Hello King Vulture! |
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| The path into the zoo.... |
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| Throughout the zoo, hand painted signs abound. Many rhyme. All are educational. |
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| Lured out with a banana.... This mammal is nocturnal. |
Poem About Hurricane Richard.....
The Belize White-Tailed Deer
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| Yes, the deer really stay in this short fence. That makes me think they are very happy. |
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| The male deer was sterilized the wrong time of year, and its horns grow like this as a result.... |
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| April the Tapir's skeleton. |
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| April lived a long life. One of the longest lived Tapir's in captivity. |
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| Tapirs are related to Rhinos and Horses. |
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| Tempting a tapir with a tapered carrot.... |
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| Tapir tenderly takes the carrot. |
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| Tapir munching carrot in background.... |
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| Story of the baby tapir, adopted by a Belize Zoo tapir mom. |
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| Adopted tapir on the left, good mom tapir on the right. Tapirs have great prehensile noses. They remind me of Berhwood and Giovanna! |
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| Check out the way cool bob of a blue tail! |
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| Talk about a regal bird..... |
Black Spider Monkey Family
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| Tony talking about spider monkeys. |
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| Far in the tree, see the monkeys? |
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| Posing for pictures. |
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| They came close for treats. |
Moving through the jungle....Walk this way....
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| Pathway to the next area. The whole place is a jungle.... |
Scarlet Macaws
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| Facts about the Dam that flooded Macaw nesting grounds. |
Turtles and Crocodiles...
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| Pathway to the pond and turtles..... |
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| Tony sprinkled some dog kibble in the pond, and suddenly there were many turtles!!! |
Pathways Through the Jungle....
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| Where to next? |
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| Didn't get to see the Pacas. They must have been sleeping, too! |
The Keel Billed Toucan
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| A chair to sit and watch the toucans. |
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| Posing pair. |
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| Feeding Raisins to Toucans! |
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| Feeding the Aracaris a raisin! |
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| Yum, yum. |
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| Tony leading the way to the Ocelot. |
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| Tree near Ocelot, with vine winding up the trunk. Way cool. |
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| From above. This ocelot is about 2 years old, and will be about 30 pounds when full grown. |
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| Growling loudly, it's this cat's purr. More chicken? |
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| Family in the distance. |
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| Coming down for a treat. |
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| Mama with baby, very new baby, hanging on. |
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| We howler monkeys deserve our name! Hey! Of the six species of howlers, ours is the most rare! What do we like to eat? Leaves, leaves, leaves. Just leave us leaves! |
Puma "Red Tiger"
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| Coming through the brush to see Tony. |
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| Looking at the chicken that accidently landed on the electric fence. Weighing the options... Tony flicked it off with a stick before he launched. |
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| Check out the paws! |
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| herd sleeping in the distance. |
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| Herd going for the scattered treats. |
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| Look our for the newborns!! Two 2-day-old baby peccaries in amongst the adults. |
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| Can not get enough of these peccaries! Way cute. Both babies are in this picture. |
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| Where should we go next? |
Agouti, the Belize Rabbit
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| The agoutis were sleeping.... |
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| Lucky's Story. A very lucky jaguar, indeed. |
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| Doing the "high 5" for chicken. |
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| Looking sleek and regal. This is a special cage we are in, that is next to Lucky Boy's pen. |
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| Chewing Chicken. |
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| So beautiful, hanging in the path. We wondered, what is this flower? |
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| Ah, of course, there's a sign! |
Runt the Ambassador Toucan
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| Runt eyes the raisin with his one good eye. |
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| Posing while chewing. |
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| Posing with Runt, who is eyeing for another raisin.... |
Tayra the Bushdog
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| The bushdog is related to the weasel. |
Junior Buddy the Jaguar
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| Junior Buddy looking for chicken. |
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| Born to a rescued mom, who then rejected him, Junior was raised in captivity by the Belize Zoo. |
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| Jaguar food |
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| Junior Buddy's story..... |
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| Junior Buddy's mom and friend jaguar. |
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| Junior following Tony. |
Panama the Harpy Eagle
Great Curassow
Common Black Hawk
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| Was not able to see this hawk.... |
Coatimundi, the Tree Sausages....
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| There it is snuggled in the crook of a tree. |
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| Once you know what to look for, they are everywhere! |
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| Here's a rare blond coatamundi, sleeping on the ground. A ground sausage! |
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| There they are, looking like bats in their cave. |
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| We've been "eyed" by the owl.... |
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| This owl was hiding too well for us! |
Yellow Headed Amazon Parrots
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| Like the parrot, Lelu, that Pat and I used to babysit long, long ago.... |
That concludes our tour!
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| I signed the guest book! |
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