Below are profiles of some of the interesting wildlife and plant life we encounter traveling in Belize. As our website develops we look forward to expanding this section and introducing you to the fascinating and abundant tropical biology of Belize.

West Indian Manatee

Known in Belize as the "sea cow", the West Indian Manatee is a little-known marine mammal that inhabits the nutrient rich estuaries, coastal regions and the reefs offshore of Belize. Adults grow to 12 feet long and can weigh over 1,000 pounds. Classified in the Order Sirenia, manatees are distantly related to the elephant. Their evolutionary path is thought to have split some 50 million years ago when a related species adapted to a marine environment characterized by shallow seas with extensive underwater sea grass meadows. It is thought that the origins of the fabled mermaid comes from sailors encounters (one suspects after a great deal of time at sea) of the female Manatee which has distinct human-like breasts. Today, manatees are endangered in much of their habitat, and Belize is one of the last strongholds for this marine herbivore.

Sea Turtles

Sea turtles range from the tropical seas to the frigid arctic and Antarctic waters. They can be great oceanic wanderers, with annual migrations of thousands of miles between feeding grounds. All sea turtles have a unique reproductive cycle whereby the female returns to lay her eggs on the same beach where she was born, it is still a mystery how they are able to find their way back to their natal beaches, even after absences of 50 years. Of the eight species of sea turtle that occur worldwide, three are known to nest in Belize:the green turtle, loggerhead and hawksbill. The hawksbill which feeds amongst shallow coral reefs is the turtle we most often encounter when sea kayaking and snorkeling. The hawksbill's name derives from its sharp hooked beak adapted to feed on sponges hidden in crevasses amongst the corals. The green turtle, a vegetarian, lives and feeds amongst the vast underwater sea-grass beds, while the loggerhead with its massive head and strong beak is thought to feed primarily on crustaceans and mollusks. Why not join us on a sea kayak and snorkel trip and have a chance to experience these fascinating reptiles in the wild!

The World of Bats

Bats occur throughout the New World Tropics, and are the most numerous mammal found in the rainforest. Bats are thought to have evolved from lemurs over 65 million years ago, and today are the only mammals that can truly fly. Active at night, most bats use echolocation ( a high pitch sound emitted through the throat and nose that echoes or rebounds off of solid objects with the returning sound wave providing an aural profile of the object) to feed on fruits, pollen, insects, fish and even birds. As highly efficient pollinators bats are vital for the pollination of many tropical fruits including bananas, figs, mangoes, and cashews.

Jaguar

The scientific name for jaguars, Panthera onca, means "hunter" and "hook" or "barb," referring to their stealth and their formidable claws. The jaguar's short muscular limbs make it perfectly adapted to climbing, swimming, crawling and capturing prey like peccaries, caimans, and deer. The largest cats in the Americas, jaguars kill their prey with powerful bites to the head or neck, unlike most great cats, which usually suffocate their prey. Jaguars thrive on prey like red brocket deer ( a small forest deer with adults weighing less than 50 pounds) but they'll make do with much less if they must. They're known to eat more than 85 species of animals-including tapir, porcupines, birds, fish, lizards, turtles, armadillos, and monkeys-as well as the occasional avocado.

For millennia, jaguars have served as potent cultural icons for many indigenous American people from the Mayans to the Incas. The Maya believed the jaguar's skin symbolized the night sky, while the Aztecs fed the hearts of sacrificial victims to the big cats. Among Amazonian societies, the jaguar's shining, reflective eyes were thought to connect to the spirit world. Today, jaguars remain an important symbol in many religious and artistic expressions in the New World. However, there is a growing conflict between those that would honor the jaguar for its spiritual, cultural and ecological significance with those that continue to cause its decline. The Wildlife Conservation Society categorizes jaguars as a landscape species meaning that they require more than one habitat for their survival and are critical to the survival of many other species.

Scarlet Macaw

The scarlet macaw is arguably the most magnificent bird of the parrot family. The term cyanoptera, is Latin for "blue wing", and refers to the blue feathers located on the bottom end of the bird's wings that distinguish it from the South American scarlet macaw, which has green feathers instead. With their wide strong wings, macaws can reach speeds of 35 miles per hour. They often fly in pairs or small groups and call to each other in raucous hoarse voices. Macaws appear to prefer higher elevations and riparian (riverine) forests. They are known to have very large territories and prefer to nest in holes high up in trees where they lay one or two eggs. Scarlet macaw gather in flocks to sleep at night, but maintain a monogamous pair bond for life. Mates may show affection by licking each other's faces. Once paired with a mate, they are rarely found alone except to feed when one bird must incubate the eggs. Nests are made in hollowed areas in trees, usually in the upper canopy of rainforests. There, in the protection of the thick foliage, they are camouflaged so predators are less likely to spot them. Typical predators of the macaw are monkeys, toucans, snakes, and other large mammals Scarlet Macaws, and parrots in general, frequently use their left foot in handling food and in grasping other things. The right foot supports their body when they are utilizing the other leg as an appendage to aid the beak. Scarlet macaw feed on specific fruits such as polewood and roam large areas searching for clumps of their favorite foods. As recent as 1989, the reported Belizean population of scarlet macaws was a total of 24 birds. In 1996, a new population of over 100 birds was discovered south of the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. Unfortunately, over most of its range, the scarlet macaw is endangered, a victim of human greed and encroachment as many have been taken as a commodity in the pet trade, hunted for their feathers, and their habitat destroyed.