Last week in the Dawn Chorus etbnc showed us a wonderful raptor rehab facility, and described the good such places do for creatures, both helping injured birds to return to health and by helping to educate people about the importance of raptors in the natural environment. On the one hand we feel sad that animals are confined, even knowing they'd be dead in the wild. But on the other hand we are moved by their beauty and remarkable adaptations which we are able to appreciate by seeing them up close.
It is an ugly and inevitable reality that wild animals are displaced, injured and killed every day as we humans overrun the earth. As individuals we can try to do what we can to mitigate the damage. I consider wildlife rehabbers heroes in that work.
Last May I had half a day on mainland Belize after the boat from Blackbird Caye dropped us off and before our plane left. We were in Belize to scuba dive and nature-watch out on Turneffe atoll for 10 days (island bird Dawn Chorus here from our trip in 2014), but figured we'd rather see a bit more of Belize than sit in the airport for 6 hours. We hired a car and driver/guide to visit the Belize "Zoo", an hour's drive inland.
"Zoo" is in quotation marks because this place is not your typical zoo. It's more a rehab and educational facility. In its 29 acres of mostly natural lowland forest habitat, it houses about 170 animals, 45 different species of birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and many incidental animals like insects. Every plant and animal is native to Belize and not one them was a wild self-sufficient creature captured from the countryside. They all came here after being abandoned, orphaned, mistreated in captivity or semi-domesticated and unable to function in the wild. Each animal has a story, and the ones I heard are sad. Still, however injured or compromised, the animals play an important role in educating Belizean citizens about their own wildlife, and us foreign visitors as well. 15,000 Belizean school-children visit the zoo every year and many of the animal enclosures are labeled with them in mind.
The zoo operates on a shoestring entirely by donations, with no government funding. It's an interesting dynamic between the zoo and the government of Belize. While the state benefits from the flow of tourists the zoo attracts it is hostile to its operation and has tried to undercut it in the past. More on that later when we get to the Scarlet Macaw.
Entering the zoo, we see several handwritten interpretive signs. This sign relates a brief history of the zoo.
All these photos are in Lightbox mode: click to enlarge for better resolution.
Inside, it's a maze of pathways with dense vegetation on both sides. The shade was very welcome on this typically hot and humid day. That's Mr O and our guide Antonio in front.
A variety of wild animals come and go from the zoo incidentally or make their homes here out of preference, like these Chachalacas (Ortalis vetula). There were quite a few Chachalacas fluttering between branches and rustling through the woods, like their equivalent up here, pheasants.
The birds' enclosures had netting across the top for the obvious reason. Here is a King Vulture (Sarcoramphus papa). The King Vulture has the strongest bill of all western hemisphere vultures and often cuts into carcasses first, unlike the Turkey vultures where I live who have to wait until the eagles have torn carrion apart. Once, this King Vulture got loose from the zoo and flew around and around above it for half an hour, then landed to rest. The staff approached to collect it, and the Vulture took off again, circling for 15 minutes, and again for 5 until he was too pooped to fly again. This bird had become habituated to people after being raised in captivity and even after he was rescued by the zoo, despite their efforts to reintroduce him to the wild, he was unwilling or unable to go free. So he lives here now.
There are two Ornate Hawk-eagles (Spizaetus ornatus) at the zoo, enclosed together...no mating yet we were told. These raptors are only about the size of a Red-tail but they can capture prey 5 times their weight, such as herons, chachalacas, toucans, macaws, and even monkeys. Their brows and crests are amazing.
The Harpy Eagle here (Harpia harpyja) is blind in one eye, and came to the zoo as a hatchling from a Peregrine Fund program in Panama. The zoo is engaged in an educational campaign to change attitudes toward these huge bird of prey who are commonly shot by farmers fearful for their livestock. Harpy Eagles are among the biggest eagles in the world, with claws the size of grizzly bear claws, able to snatch a Howler monkey from a tree and keep flying! While there are still Harpy Eagles in South America, they are nearly extinct in Central America, mostly due to deforestation of their habitat for logging, grazing, agriculture, mining, and also hunting. The idea is to raise, train and release Harpy Eagles where they might have a chance at survival in the wild.
The national bird of Belize is the Keel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus), a gloriously colorful creature. Toucans are very sociable birds in nature so it was nice to see several in this enclosure. They are mainly fruit-eaters and wield that giant beak dexterously, slicing and dicing. Toucans are prone to disease if their food isn't managed carefully, which is a problem for some people who keep them as pets. These gorgeous birds aren't good flyers, and have zygodactylous feet which helps them hold onto trees and hop from one branch to another.
Another toucan, the Collared Araçari (Pteroglossus torquatus) we almost missed seeing since it was back in the trees. Antonio made pishing noises and eventually this fellow hopped sort-of into view.
This Jabiru stork (Jabiru mycteria) came to the zoo after his parents were shot. At present there are 24 known Jabiru storks remaining in Belize in the wild. He stands 5' tall, has a 9' wingspan and is a formidable hunter. The zoo manager relates a story about the stork's encounter once with a German tourist. The visitor was standing on the pier that juts out into the stork's habitat looking for him, and perched on the netting above the man the stork stalked him, stabbing in his direction. What saved the tourist from being speared by that foot-long beak was his moving around. The zoo has replaced the netting with corrugated tin (this story and others here I found in a book by Bruce Barcott, The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw, as well as the zoo's website, and Antonio).
We got a look at the stork from up on the pier and it didn't look so big from 10 feet away, but when it came over to the platform and looked at me through the slats.....big. The zoo also has a life-size model of the stork for kids to compare themselves to. Next to a welcome bench in the shade!
Interestingly, there were some animals that are commonplace in North America, like White-tailed Deer, Barn Owls and Brown Pelicans. What's common in one place is exotic in another!
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The mammal enclosures are in very dense woods on the periphery of the property. Here are a few of those, to round out picture of this facility, before we come back toward the front and the rest of the birds.
Lucky Boy is a black jaguar who was abandoned at a resort when the owners walked away. Nearly dead with starvation and disease, he was rehabilitated as well as possible here at the Belize Zoo. I didn't see Lucky Boy - he was in the woods somewhere. Antonio asked a staff member how he was doing and was told he'd been recently treated for some medical condition.
Jaguars (Panthera onca), have been iconic in Central America since Mayan times. I caught a look at one jaguar dozing. The zoo takes in "problem jaguars": jaguars who've gotten a taste for livestock, which they never lose. Rather than being released back into the wild where they will surely be shot by farmers, they are rehabbed and sent to suitable foreign institutions like modern zoos with ecozone enclosures.
A margay (Leopardus wiedii):
The Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii) is the national animal of Belize:
The Spider Monkey enclosure can only be loosely called that. There is a low fence around the patch of forest, and the monkeys can come and go into the wild if they want. They stay because of the steady food supply.
There were Howler monkeys too we got a glimpse of. Many of the animals at the facility were not visible; apparently they are more active at dawn and dusk, or are nocturnal.
Javelina's (Pecari tajacu) are pack animals. Also called Peccaries or Skunk Pigs, their enclosure is cleverly situated lengthwise so only one small end fronts on a path. They are definitely stinky.
American Crocodile. There are numerous ponds at the zoo.
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Back around to the front, we came to the Scarlet Macaw (Ara macao) enclosure. There was just this one in there. Scarlet Macaws are widely distributed in South America so they are not considered at risk by international organizations like the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). However they are very rare in Central America.
In the late 1990s a hydropower-producing dam was proposed for the interior of Belize that would flood a valley considered among the most ecologically diverse in the country, and the home of the largest colony of remaining Scarlet Macaws. Bruce Barcott's book describes the context and sequence of events in detail, which pitted conservationists against the government of Belize. Sharon Matola (an American-born Belizean citizen who founded the Belize Zoo in 1983) along with other wildlife advocates tried every possible measure, from galvanizing citizens to an appeal to the Privy Council, highest court in the Commonwealth, but the Challilo dam went in. It was pushed by corrupt government leadership who received kickbacks from the Canadian company who owns the dam, sweetening the deal in ways that have ruined not just the wild Macal valley but the economy of Belize (along with other similar business deals) (short summary here). The promised jobs went to Chinese laborers. The electricity rates are now highest in Central America. Water in the Macal river watershed is undrinkable because of toxic-laden sediment. Belize has a staggering national debt.
It's a common story in developing countries: foreign corporations exploiting corrupt governments, with the country's people and environment paying the price. What's inexplicable to me is why a country that relies economically on tourism would so recklessly ruin what tourists come to see. The government leadership retaliated against conservation efforts during the dam project in various ways, including trying to situate a toxic landfill next door to the zoo. That tactic failed when the Inter-American Development Bank funding the project discovered the political nature of the choice and the engineering disaster it would be there.
The Challilo dam came online in 2005, flooding the valley of the Scarlet Macaws. This beautiful lonely bird in a cage is a reminder of the fragile state of environmental protection here and elsewhere.
A large enclosure near the entrance houses many parrots such as amazons. This White-fronted Amazon is one (Amazona albifrons). These are mostly abandoned by individuals and businesses who look on them as decorations. These parrots appeared to have lots of attention and toys at least. Antonio seemed to know some of them.
On our way out we passed faded framed photos of Harrison Ford and Dolly Parton who have donated money to the zoo and written appeals for environmental causes in Belize. Famous advocates can be helpful!
We spent about 2 hours wandering through the facility, and I wouldn't mind coming back, perhaps even at another time of day. The tropical humid lowland heat was intense, but the shady natural setting made it pleasant. If you're in Belize and have a half a day, it's well worth a trip out there.
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“The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way in which its animals are treated."
- quotation attributed to Gandhi
(As usual, I've scheduled this diary to come out at 6am, and will join you in the comments later on after I wake up :) Please share with us in the comments what cool bird experiences you've had this week!)