Belize Zoo

We really enjoyed visiting the Belize Zoo. All the animals are local and all have been rescued. We paid for a private behind the scenes tour so we got to hear the stories behind all the animals and even got to feed a few of them. We wouldn't have gotten such good views without our guide to call them over. Unfortunately, most of the enclosures had heavy mesh walls so I didn't take as many photographs as I would have liked.

The Howler monkeys were the most cooperative. They were feeding in the trees right beside the walkway. (One of the advantages of native animals is that they eat the local plants.)

The Spider monkeys are always fun to watch but they move too fast to get good photographs.

Until he outgrew it, the crocodile used to like to lie on the bench to sun himself. In my imagination I could see someone sitting down and getting a surprise :-)

He came to get a chunk of meat thrown into his pond.

A closeup of a second crocodile.

I always like to see the Javalinas (Collared Peccaries) in the southern US. At first it looked like there were only a few here, until they all came running to see if they'd get fed. Apparently a wild one comes to visit the captive ones occasionally.

They had quite a few Brown Pelicans with various injuries that prevented them from being released. (e.g. damaged wings)

Of course, there were also a few unofficial residents. I spotted this Gray Cracker butterfly when we first entered the zoo.

This Black Pondhawk dragonfly was hanging around the crocodile pond.

A group of Chachalacas were sharing the tapir's dish of fruits and vegetables.

The best sighting was this venomous but beautiful Coral snake which crossed the path in front of us. I was too slow to get a photo of it on the path, only this shot as it disappeared into the undergrowth.

Whereas I got up close and personal with the Boa. (photo thanks to Shelley)

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Belize - More Photos

Miscellaneous photos from Turneffe and St George's.

We didn't see any big iguanas on Turneffe but there were some small Black Spiny-tailed Iguanas. The young ones tend to have more green color.

St George's had some bigger ones.

They are good climbers (as well as digging burrows).

There were lots of little lizards. I think they are Brown Anoles.

We saw the most Caribbean Land Hermit Crabs on Halfmoon Caye but there were some on the other islands.

We saw lots of holes that I assume were made by fiddler crabs but this was one of the few that I actually found out in the open and cornered for a photograph. Only the males have the large "major" claw.

I also found a few crabs on the side of the dock. They tended to stay half in the water, making them hard to photograph.

I think this is a Nimble Spray Crab, known for hiding in sea urchins.

At first I wasn't sure what these were - some kind of algae or anemone? I realized they are Upsidedown Mangrove Jellies. Occasionally one would be off the bottom and pulsing its bell like other sea jellies.

There were lots of little fish in the shallow water close to shore.

And small barracudas, presumably hunting the other little fish. I found this foot-long one stranded on the shore. There was no one around so I'm not sure how it got there. Maybe a larger fish chased it right out of the water? I put it back in the water and it slowly recovered and swam away.

There were also a few Red Cushion Sea Stars in the shallows.

At St George's we were lucky to see a pair of dolphins go by. We didn't get very good photos unfortunately.

Everywhere we went in Belize there were numerous dragonflies patrolling the air. I'm not sure what kind they were since they never perched. Luckily there were also a few other kinds that did perch so I could photograph them.

There weren't a lot of butterflies but I found a few.

I didn't see a lot of other insects (although something was biting us) other than a few interesting beetles.

There were lots of big hibiscus bushes that make my struggling little house plant seem rather feeble. But surprisingly, there wasn't much Bougainvillea.

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Belize Birds part 2

Here's another batch of bird photos from Belize. At St. George's Caye the outdoor dining area was on the second floor and overlooked the top of a tree. At breakfast there would often be small birds in the tree so I started taking my camera and making sure I sat facing out. But the birds didn't sit still and tended to stay hidden in the tree. Until one morning when they cooperated and I finally got some photos. There were several warblers: yellow-throated, black-throated blue, and yellow.

Another yellow bird, a bit larger, was this female Hooded Oriole.

I noticed a woodpecker on one of the palm trees but it was too far away to get good photos. But amazingly, it also came and perched in the top of the tree near us. It turned out to be a Golden Fronted Woodpecker.

I saw this Cinnamon Hummingbird a few times before managing to photograph it. Once it came to visit the flowers beside our cabana and I managed a lucky shot. Another time I saw it perch on a tree beside the path.

Back at Turneffe I saw the American Redstart several more times.

This Tricolored Heron was surprisingly tolerant of me photographing it.

A few attempts at birds in flight - a Brown Pelican and a Royal Tern.

Easier to photograph when sitting still.

On St George's Caye we saw a Little Blue Heron

and also a sub-species of Great Blue Heron - Würdemann's

as well as regular Great Blue Herons

And, of course, cormorants and gulls

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