Belize City might not be much of a dream destination but you should take the time to stop at The Belize Zoo! It is well worth it.
The Belize Zoo was founded in 1983 after filming the natural history documentary “Paths of the Raingods” by Richard Foster. At the time of filming the documentary Sharon Matola, a biologist, former circus performer and former US Airforce survival instructor was hired to take care of the animals. By the time the filming was done the animals had become partly tame and Sharon Matola was left wondering what to do with them.
She founded The Belize Zoo, which is by now not only a Zoo but also an education and research center surrounded by lush vegetation. It is one of the few zoos that is amazingly well cared for. It strictly exhibits animals native to Belize. At the moment the zoo features over 100 animals, many of them endangered in their natural habitat.
Junior the Jaguar smootching on my cheek
The 29 acres ground are displaying the animals in their natural habitat while you can walk around the winding pathways. You never know what’s waiting for you to discover around the next corner but you can be sure to see animals you have never seen and probably will never see in the wild.
Some of the animals are tame or part tame. When i visited The Belize Zoo i had the chance to pet the Tapirs (and they loved it) as well as get a one-on-one with Junior, the Jaguar. Junior was bottle-raised because his mother didn’t accept him. He is as tame as a Jaguar can be and for a small extra charge, his caretaker will gladly take you inside his cage (into a small cage inside his big habitat) to have him perform tricks for you. You will be allowed to feed him and pet him and he will even give kisses. The money this exhibit generates is used to further improve the jaguars’ habitat as well as help out orphaned jaguars like Junior.
The Zoo also has a bird observation deck, a class room facility and conference room and different slide presentations and lectures available upon request. They offer a night tour which is my HOT TIP. Most of the animals are nocturnal and you will see a lot more just before dusk or at dusk than in midday.
one of the two tapirs at Belize Zoo
The Belize Zoo is open every day except major holidays from 8.30am to 5.00pm, the night tour has to be arranged for in advance. Check out their website as well: www.belizezoo.org
The admission fee for Non-Belizeans is $10US for adults and $5US for children. They also host a giftshop where you can buy pretty much anything from batteries to postcards to actual photographs of some of the animals.
All in all The Belize Zoo is one of the MUST SEE’s in Belize and definetly worth a trip. It is located 31 miles from Belize City along the Western Highway. If you are traveling by bus, let your driver know and he will gladly drop you off there. To get back to Belize City you can either use a cab or flag down the next bus running in the desired direction.
In order not to take away all the suspense, i will refrain from putting up a complete list of animals you may encounter at The Belize Zoo. Just go and see for yourself, i am sure you will enjoy yourselves plenty no matter what age you are or where you are from!
