the hicatee river turtle's plight

[ Guest post from student Linda E.]

Sharon recently e-mailed:
“I see posters going up all over Belmopan and Roaring Creek that this weekend there is to be an ‘iguana egg suck’ competition as well as the selling of hicatee for the Roaring Creek School. Reading the Wildlife laws of Belize, I notice that the hunting or molesting of any Belizean wildlife with young was strictly illegal (includes nest robbing), as was the selling of hicatee.”

SUNY Cortland is helping to save the hicatee river turtle from possible extinction. On Tuesday, April 7th from 5 to 7:30 PM a table was set up in Corey Union near the Dragon’s Court where a petition was available to sign. The petition’s intention was to pressure the Belizean government to enforce its wildlife laws and expand legislation, which will help protect endangered wildlife. More than 100 interested students, faculty and staff came out and signed the petition.

A general interest meeting for the Belize Zoo Project was held on Tuesday, April 14th, in Sperry Center. Ten enthusiastic student leaders attended to lay the groundwork for next year's efforts. They have formed a Student Government Organization and will begin work in the fall when the new academic year begins.

The hicatee (dermatemys mawii) is a Central American river turtle that is so aquatic that it spends its entire life in or on water except when it comes on shore to lay eggs (www.hickatee.com/hickatee.html). After depositing her eggs beneath a camouflage of rotting vegetation, the mother turtle returns to the river leaving the eggs to incubate and hatch.

The waterways of southern Mexico, northern Guatemala, and Belize's coastal lowlands are a natural habitat for these freshwater turtles. Belize has the highest recorded populations followed by Mexico; presently none were reported in Honduras. "The deeper and clearer the water the better, and Belize's outsized lagoons are considered by them to be prime residential areas" (www.hickatee.com/hickatee.html).

The hicatee faces extinction largely due to over hunting. The turtle is active at night and sleeps mainly during the daytime. As he floats lazily along, suddenly the hicatee is whacked by an oar and captured. The turtle is a much-prized meat and a traditional Belizean Easter meal. For these reasons, the hicatee is listed on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) red-list as a critically endangered species.

Currently limited legislation protects the hicatee in Belize: a one-month closed season, no trading of hicatee meat, and a maximum of three per person to be caught.

"TIDE (Toledo Institute for Development and Environment) is partnering with the Belize Fisheries Department, Ya’axche Conservation Trust, and local experts to draft a national recovery plan for Hicatee"

(http://www.tidebelize.org/documents/InterimreporttoSumitFoundationfinal.pdf).

Cortland Rocks

From Sharon...

Cortland the Margay has such a pleasing personality, and she really seems to enjoy listening to me play the guitar! Lately I've been been practicing to perform a song about jaguars with local pre-school children while Cortland serves as my "test audience." While I play she likes to lie on a branch, just above my guitar seat and accompanying cup of coffee, to have a close listen. One day when I got up to take her photo, she jumped down to investigate my guitar and I got this shot! Two professors at SUNY Cortland have promised to write Cortland-Kitty her own song, so keep checking in at TBZblog in the future to hear what they come up with!

BTB adopts Jr. B!

From Sharon...

On Tuesday, March 10, Mrs. Laura Esquivel and Nate from the Belize Tourist Board (BTB) arrived to at the zoo for an "official dedication" of their sponsorship of our famous "Spokes-Jaguar" Junior Buddy! They presented Junior with a beautiful sign, which we've proudly displayed near his enclosure. Laura also presented TBZ with a check which will take care of the Buddy for an entire year, and the BTB promised to continue their support for Junior in the future.

TBZ is so happy and honoured to have such a special relationship with the BTB!! Click here to see a video of Junior Buddy performing for Sharon and Laura at his dedication ceremony.

Cruisin' on the Sibun

Guest post by student Linda.....

During our visit to the Belize Zoo, our SUNY Cortland group went on a kayaking adventure down the Sibun River. Our adventure started with a half-hour bus ride that brought us to our starting point. Peter Hererra, our wonderful tour guide, would be navigating the group down the river. Each kayak held three people, so we broke up into groups that spread out the more experienced paddlers. Stanley, our bus driver, and his assistant Daniel saw us off saying they’d meet us later when we arrived at our final destination.

The weather was glorious for kayaking. The voyage was serene and peaceful. Trees, birds, large rocks and iguanas greeted us along the way. Few signs of human life were present. Peter explained that the rainy season had ended about one month earlier and how the river had almost overflowed its banks. All along the trip, he pointed out places that evidenced the height of the water.

Peter, Wendy and I paddled the lead kayak but occasionally dropped back to wait for a straggler or help out when a kayak tipped over. Luckily only one of the six kayaks overturned.
At one point, Wendy noticed some odd-looking bumps on the tree trunks. Peter replied, “Those are bats.” He told the group that they are proboscis bats, a bat which is harmless to humans. “Proboscis mostly eat insects,” he said. He added that during the daytime, this is typical behavior. The bats are known for roosting head-down in a vertical line on the undersides of tree trunks that lean over the water. A proboscis bat is well-camouflaged because of their grizzled, brownish fur and small size, making them difficult to notice against the tree bark.

The three of us paddled closer to the tree so I could take a picture of the bats. We stopped the kayak within four feet of the leaning tree where the bats were roosted. Just after snapping a couple of pictures, the colony of bats flew straight at us. I wonder if the others in the group can still hear my frightened scream!

At another location, Peter noticed some foot prints along the bank. The thick mud indicated the footsteps of a tapir that had come down to the river to bathe. We paddled the kayak closer and observed the footprints more closely. We stopped for a short swim and "mud-painting"
about halfway through our trip, then we paddled for another couple of hours and landed at our destination for a delicious picnic lunch.

Happy Birthday Junior Buddy!

From Sharon . . .
On February 25, 2009 we celebrated Junior Buddy's 2nd Birthday!!! More than 100 children were happy to share this 'big day" with our famous education jaguar. The celebration brought attention to the fact that jaguars need our protection, so that they can survive into the future.

The Belize Zoo is located SMACK in the center of Belize's "Jaguar Corridor," a string of forests that support these majestic animals.

The Democracia Gibnuts, a famous group of rock 'n rollers from our neighboring pre-school, sang Junior Buddy his very own song, and local television covered the happy occasion. Click here to listen to a grown-up version of the song.

Children received education handouts and stickers from Education Director Celso Poot, and to round out their fun day, cupcakes and fresh lime juice were served to all!

As for Junior Buddy? He seemed to love all of the attention!

Zoo volunteers get the job done!

From Sharon...

Don Griffin is a "retired guy who can do just about anything," and he recently volunteered his skills for a month at the Belize Zoo. Don is an amazing guy! Besides fixing anything that needs fixing, he is also skilled at refurbishing skeletons--and his talents in this area enhanced the zoo's "Dem Bones" exhibit at the Puma homestead. While staying at the zoo's Tropical Education Center, Don became a big fan of kayaking on the Sibun River, where he saw (among other things) otters, coatimundi, and big iguanas. He also got to see Jabiru Storks on the river, which he described as "a thrill". We at the Belize Zoo are fortunate that thousands of people like Don from all over the world donate their time, money, energy, and skills to support our work. If you'd like to support our work by becoming a member or donating to the zoo, check out the membership page of the Belize Zoo website.

SUNY Cortland meets Cortland the Margay

This is a guest post from student Linda . . .

On Wednesday, January 7th our group from SUNY Cortland got a guided tour of the Belize Zoo from its founder and director, Sharon Matola. Many of the animals hurried to the edges of their enclosures to greet Sharon and get their share of the special treats she brings them. She told us how each animal had come to live at the zoo and related other characteristics she’s noticed while working with each animal.

I am a cat lover and was really looking forward to meeting the ocelot, puma, jaguars and margays at the zoo. I was not disappointed, and I will never forget the experience of seeing these beautiful animals up close in their native habitat!

The two adult margays that are on exhibit at the zoo were sleeping as our group passed by their enclosure. The pair was curled up comfortably on a tree branch, so we only stopped briefly, but I lingered longer than the others in hopes of seeing some activity. Our group had just finished visiting the howler monkeys, and as a result the howlers were still making the loud, scary noises they are famous for. One of the margays seemed annoyed by the noise, and walked down the tree and began moving about in the pen. I tried to snap a picture but my camera wasn’t fast enough to keep up with him and he was well hidden by the foliage. I waited, hoping to sneak another peek and possibly a photo, but after a few minutes I decided I should catch up with the group.

The last stop on our tour was to see Cortland, the female margay cat born this past August. Sharon explained that Cortland is not on exhibit at the zoo; she is being reserved for purposes of photography. Sharon decided split us into two groups of eight, because she feared a large group might frighten Cortland, since she usually sees only Sharon and the zookeepers that care for her.
My long anticipated wait was about to end; Cortland would become a firsthand experience. I volunteered to be amongst the first group going in. As we entered Cortland’s pen, I hoped she would be awake. The darling was curled up on a tree branch and upon being aware of our presence, she peered back at us. It was around this time that I felt something biting my toe. This moment was important so I did my best to ignore the pain. I was no longer able ignore the almost burning sensation and looked down to see several fire ants crawling around on my left foot. My first thought was, “why now?”

While the others were “oohing” and “aahing” over Cortland’s beauty, I was dealing with a fire ant attack! As fast as I could I brushed the ants off my feet and ignored the pain. As my attention returned, I focused on Cortland and snapped some pictures of her. After a couple of minutes Cortland climbed to a higher tree branch. Her ears began to twitch. Was she listening to the group’s chatter? Was she curious or afraid? I asked Sharon. Sharon responded that she wasn’t sure; she’d not yet seen this behavior from Cortland.

Upon returning home, I decided to research Cortland’s reaction to our encounter. The information I found referred to cats in general, and stated that cats will twitch their ears whenever prey is near. Had Cortland moved to a higher branch because she viewed us as prey? It seems unlikely given how large we were compared to Cortland’s 18” frame, but according to Sharon she is one tough cat, so maybe she thought we’d make a nice value-sized meal?

Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve

Many visitors to Belize take advantage of the great variety of places to visit and plan some day-long excursions like our group did. In case you might be interested in a side trip, the following post summarizes our full-day trip to Mt. Pine Ridge and to the Green Hills Butterfly Farm.
We left the TEC at approximately 8 a.m. and took the long bus ride to a Pine Savannah reserve, Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. Geographically, it was not as long in distance as one might think for a nearly 3 1/2 hour trip one way, but because the terrain was extremely rough, our bus traveled very slowly and carefully over the mostly dirt roads, over hill and dale, up the mountain.

On the way there we stopped at Moonracer Farm for a chat with Tom and Marge Gallagher and a brief hike around. If you are looking for a place to stay in this area of Belize, Tom and Marge have some great accommodations, and I encourage you to check it out!

I laughed a little when I looked up the web link for Mt. Pine Ridge, because it says it is not accessible by bus, only by car. After our trip, I can understand why they say that. Stanley did an amazing job getting us there on our big, white bus. (And we even got a flat tire, discovered just before we left to go back, and thank goodness we had a spare! Stanley and Peter changed that giant bus tire in the heat in 15 minutes flat!)



This reserve is unbelievably beautiful, and it was worth the long and bumpy trip! We enjoyed swimming in the cool and clear pools, and the students (and Matthew) slid down the natural water slides!

"Within its boundaries are the Rio Pools, a popular site for a summer picnic, where the river cascades down into a narrow cavern strewn with granite boulders. It's a great place to spend some time enjoying the deep pools and clambering around the enormous granite rocks."

[Remember to click on photos to enlarge them.]

On the way home, we made a stop at Green Hills Butterfly Farm where noted biologist Jan Meerman refreshed us on the life-cycle of the butterfly and showed us around the butterfly house, full of blue morpho butterflies, prevalent in Belize, among others.

tbz adventures

During our recent group trip to Belize, the 16 of us had the chance to make two special visits to The Belize Zoo (TBZ). On the day of our arrival (Saturday) at the Tropical Education Center, where we stayed for the first five nights, we took a quick bus ride over to TBZ and had a night tour of the zoo. The animals were particularly active at night. Unfortunately, I was on the dopey side and forgot my camera, so down the road, I may add a few photos when others from the trip share more with me. For now, I am including a couple of photos from participant Wendy, who snapped some good ones of the fer de lance and the "friendly" boa constrictor.

A few days later, on Wednesday, January 7th, we had a special half-day tour of the Zoo led by founder and director herself, Sharon Matola! Everywhere Sharon led us, she would call out to the animals and they would gather round and noisily greet her. It was amazing. I didn't forget my camera this time.

We stopped off to see April the Tapir, along with Tapirs Ceiba and Navidad. We spent time with the Scarlet Macaws, including Blue, the Scarlet Macaw that Sharon rescued, as shared in the book about Sharon, The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw, by Bruce Barcott. We also got to see Panama the Harpy Eagle.

We saw the spider monkeys, noisy howler monkeys, CT the jaguar, a gorgeous puma, the Aracari Toucans, and a keel-billed toucan.

A very special thing we got to do, thanks to Sharon, was a jaguar encounter with Junior Buddy. Junior Buddy is special. His mother was very sick when she came to TBZ a couple of years ago. The staff was nursing her, and didn't know she was pregnant. They soon found that she was, and Junior Buddy was born at the zoo. His mother was so sick that she rejected Junior Buddy, and he ended up being raised by Sharon and the staff. What we were able to do in small groups was to go inside a small safety cage inside Junior Buddy's larger area. He would come up to the cage and we were able to feed him chicken bones and pet him. As you can see from one of the photos, Junior Buddy enjoyed "grooming" Henry through the cage. Junior Buddy enjoyed rolling over and doing some field routines for us, and we clapped and cheered with delight. He patiently went through four or five rounds of these small-group "visits." What an experience it was.

We also got to visit with Wild Boy, a rehabbed jaguar whom Sharon trained to give "high fives" when you carefully high five just a little distance from his enclosure. We also got to see some white-tailed deer, a group of odoriferous peccaries, and several birds that are native to Belize.

That is the thing about The Belize Zoo. Visitors get to see the animals that are native to Belize. One won't see elephants or giraffes, but native Belizeans will tell you that before Sharon founded TBZ, some had never seen the animals of Belize. Many myths were taught to children about the animals. With Sharon's educational efforts, species in danger of extinction will be preserved, and the people of Belize have the opportunity to value these special animals rather than fear them. All the exhibits contain large areas full of the native rainforest plants and topography. The setting is as natural as it could be.

The highlight of the TBZ visit for me was a visit to see Cortland the Margay kitten. Cortland is not on exhibit, but she is being conditioned to have people enter her large enclosure to take photographs. She peacefully and regally sat in her tree perch while we took photo after photo. What an adorable and beautiful cat she is! And she is named after our college!

Our visit to TBZ certainly was memorable. In addition to seeing all the animals, we learned a great deal about the ecology of the area, and the conservation efforts that the zoo supports. I included photos of just a few of the many educational signs that are placed all over the Zoo grounds to give you a sense of the ubiquitous education. I hope you will be able to visit The Belize Zoo some time soon."Cortland"

Lamanai - Maya Site

Many people who visit The Belize Zoo also travel to various Maya Sites throughout Belize. The following post describes one of those sites from our group trip to Belize at the beginning of January 2009.

On Tuesday, January 6th, our group got up early and had breakfast at 7 a.m. and departed on our bus for our trip to the Lamanai Maya Site. The bus ride was about 90 minutes long, and Peter, our guide, took that time to get on the mic and provide a very good historical overview of the Maya. We arrived at a boat launch on the New River to take a large tour speed boat to the Lamanai site. The boat ride was also about 90 minutes long. Our boat driver Amad had an eagle-eye for spotting birds along the way, and he would slow the boat down to show us various birds and plants and wildlife.

This was my second Maya site visit. Two years ago, we visited Xunantunich, located south and west of Lamanai.

Some of the things that Peter shared with us:

**There are many ancient cultures -- Aztecs, Incas, cultures in Asia and Africa. The Maya is believed to be the oldest civilization.

**Evidence has led to the opinion that ancient humans came to the New World via the Bering Strait (Russia-Alaska-South to Mexico) hunting large animals. Different tribes chased different animals, and drove those animals to extinction.

**The last ice age was approximately 10-11,000 years B.C. Over the years, hunters evolved to settlers and began planting corn and vegetables, domesticating plants. They stuck around rather than moving to wait for harvests. They began to develop pottery to store food.

**The Maya Chronology spans approximately 3000 years -- somewhere between 1500 B.C. to somewhere between 1340 A.D. There were three stages, Pre-Classic, Classic, and Post-Classic. The Pre-Classic spanned from approximately 1500 B.C. to approximately 300 A.D.; The Classic period was from approximately 300 A.D. to 900 A.D., and the Post-Classic was from approximately 1000 to 1340 A.D. The latter period was marked by decline and starvation -- believed largely to be a result of overpopulation and overuse of resources, coupled with probable drought.

**At peak, there were up to 20 million people in the Maya world. While other cultures had many similar aspects to the Maya (same sports, worship of multiple Gods, plaza architecture, governments), the Maya surpassed others in a key area: communication. They were the first tribe of ancient man to be classified as a civilization. They were the only culture that had a writing system -- hieroglyphics. (The Olmec culture of Mexico had a symbolic system, but the Maya refined the pictographic to ideographic in terms of writing.)

**The Maya mastered mathematics, construction, astronomy (they plotted the eclipses) and they created a perfect calendar! (They actually had two calendars -- a sacred/ceremonial calendar of 260 days, and then a long calendar for calculating the reigns of leaders). Some Maya sites were considered to be astronomy observatories. Others were trading posts.

**Lamanai is the second largest Maya site in Belize (only Caracol is larger). It is accessible by boat, and it is distinguished as the longest occupied site in all of the Maya world (probably due in large part to the fact that it had plentiful supplies of water.) Lamanai was a trading site (jade, obsidian, flint stone).

**The Maya didn't "disappear" or collapse quickly. It was a slow long process, and there are still descendants of the Maya today. The population of the Maya dramatically decreased in the Post-Classic period. They began to reuse/renovate buildings, by building over previous structures. They did not do a lot of new construction during this period, making it very hard for archaeologists to analyze.

**The Maya world is a fairly small area -- 100,000 square miles -- Yucutan Peninsula. The Maya map stretches across five states in Mexico, all of Belize, all of Guatemala, and the northeastern parts of El Salvador and Honduras. Archaeologists define the area by pottery, tools, masonry construction style and evidence of the culture (plants and trees).

**Approximately 100 years ago, sites were often discovered by chicle farmers/workers/hunters. Sometimes the sites would be reported and sometimes not. Today, NASA imagery helps to locate sites through analysis of topography and plant coloration. Culture influences or gives advantages to certain kinds of trees, so often near Maya sites, the trees they used are still growing: Breadnut, Copal, Cohun, Silver Thatch Palm, Ceiba.

**The Maya had raised roads/networks for communication. The rulers wore special feather headdresses and regalia. The burials did not involve mummification; the bodies were wrapped in cloth. Archaeologists found skeletal remains with necklaces, bracelets, anklets. The amount of jade is believed to indicate status. Sometimes people were buried with items that symbolized their roles in life. A musician would be buried with an instrument. A warrior with a weapon, etc. They were buried with food, pottery, water, etc. in order to navigate through the nine levels of the underworld before emerging to a new life after death.

**Rulers would be buried in a room of a house, and that room would then be filled in to serve as a foundation for the room of the next ruler, usually a descendant, to be built on top of it. The Maya believed that the first house/building had "life," so they would take some element of the prior structure and build it into the new structure (tricky for archaeologists to figure out). Different times would have different building styles, and the rooms would be built up and up.

**Lamanai was excavated between 1974 and 1986. Dr. David Pendergrass of the Royal Ontario Museum was the chief investigator, and the decision was made to map, but not uncover, all the buildings in the interest of true preservation. There were 714 buildings over a 4.5 square mile area located. Pendergrass noted that the quality of materials appeared to decline from the Pre-Classic to the Mid-Classic period (a phenomenon not unfamiliar to us even today . . . sometimes our older homes are made with much better quality materials than our newer homes.)

**It was determined that when the Spanish arrived at Lamanai in 1644 A.D., they met an active Lamanai Maya site -- one of only 2 active sites found by the Spaniards. Others had all been abandoned.

**The story is that the Spanish built a Catholic Church at Lamanai. When they left for Spain, the Maya burned it, and had buried a ceramic icon under the door depicting a human in a crocodile's mouth (with jaguar spots on the croc). When the Spanish returned 20 years later, they were angry to make the discovery of the burned church. So, they made Maya labor build another church. When they left again to go to Spain, de ja vu, the Maya burned it, burying another ceramic icon depicting a human in a crocodile's mouth. These two icons are pictured here, with a bit of the glare of the glass encasements from the museum center. I don't know about you, but if I were the Spanish back then, I would have taken these acts as a very clear rejection of their forced Christianity.

**It is estimated that at its peak in the Mid-Classic period, between 40,000 and 60,000 people lived at Lamanai. We looked at the epicenter of the plaza where the ruler class/government would have been located in stone and masonry structures with steep stairs. There would have been compounds for farmers and lower classes located in raised wooden structures with thatched roofs around the periphery.

**Rulers would have had knowledge due to their precise calendars. They could predict the agricultural cycles, rain, etc, which gave them power over their people. They had a large agricultural economy (not hunters largely), and the rulers would have history, both literal and symbolic, in being built atop their ancestors, which would reinforce their power and prestige. They knew geometry, shown in construction, and they had irrigation systems. Their knowledge was written down (until the Spanish burned all but three texts in order to write their own version -- none of which is maintained in Belize. One is in Germany, one is in Mexico, and one is split into two locations, and I didn't catch where).

**All in all, we spent about three hours hiking through the site, with beautiful lush trees and vegetation all around us. At about 2 p.m. we had a lunch, brought in by Amad, cooked by his mother. It was a most delicious stewed chicken, rice and beans, coleslaw, potato salad, homemade salsa, and soda in a bottle. It was a traditional Belizean meal, and food never tasted so good as it did that afternoon.

On the bus ride home, we discussed why the Maya declined. There are many theories including that the lower classes abandoned Maya civilization out of frustration with the upper class's failure to mitigate the drought, hunger and warfare among sites. Some may have wandered off/dispersed to farm their own lands. Overpopulation is believed to have contributed to the downfall of the Maya. They had likely deforested the land in the height of the Classical period; there was climate change and lack of resources at a time of great population growth. The natural resources were stripped due to overpopulation.
There are still Maya today, and a large number of Mestizos (Maya-Spanish descendants). A census of Maya was conducted recently, and it found that there are 11.5 people of Maya ancestry, half of which are direct descendants. Twenty percent of the Yucatan Peninsula is Maya, and many are in Guatemala.

We climbed to the top of N10-43, above. It was very steep, indeed. The photo on the right and below are from the top!

Below is our group shot, with our wonderful group of 16! Notice Matt is at the top of the pyramid. Also below is a little someone we saw on our boat ride back.

** As always, to see a photo or map in greater detail, click on the image to enlarge.

Check Out Accommodations at TBZ

Many of our readers might be surprised to learn that The Belize Zoo has excellent accommodations just adjacent to TBZ, and it offers an great base from which to explore the entire country of Belize. For those planning to visit The Belize Zoo, this post contains a description of our experience, including the delicious food, on our recent group trip.

We stayed at the Tropical Education Center of The Belize Zoo. This was a great home base for our many excursions, and the rainforest grounds themselves were full of beautiful trees, vegetation, and flowers -- perfect for hiking around and bird watching. The TEC has a pond that is full of crocodiles, turtles, and has a host of birds hanging out. We were able to feed the turtles and crocodiles one evening and got to see quite a few up close. One evening, staffer John caught a baby crocodile and let Matt hold it. I am hoping to get a photo of that to add!

Tom and Matt and I were housed in one of the three VIP cabins.
Our cabin was up on stilts so that it sat up in the canopy of trees. It had a wonderful screened-in porch on two sides, and inside it had two double beds, a small counter area, and a small bathroom with a hot shower stall! The cabin had electricity, and it was wonderful to have a small refrigerator and lights to turn on at night. The cabin had a large jug of drinking water in it, and it was very clean and comfortable. At night and in the morning, with eyes closed, we could hear the sounds of the rainforest . . . birds, critters, tree frogs and crickets. It was a symphony of nature. The air is earthy and moist and fragrant. The whole atmosphere is rejuvenating.

The students stayed in dormitories, two beds to a room, and there were bathroom facilities a short walk from the dorms. There are also some great cabanas available a short distance away.

The dining hall was a short walk from the dorms, and we had buffet style meals cooked up by the talented Miss Muriel. Our meals were traditional Belize dishes. For breakfast, fresh fruit (pineapple, watermelon, and papaya) was plentiful, along side scrambled eggs, refried beans, tortilla or Johnny Cake biscuits or Fried Jacks (fried tortilla dough with sugar or syrup).

Lunches were mostly packed to take on trips, and they included the most delicious burritos or sandwiches and cakes. The beverages were usually lime-aid or sometimes soda in a glass bottle. The Coke tastes so much better there because they make it with cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup. The difference is noticeable! Some of our group bought Belikin beer by the bottle for a cocktail.

Dinner entrees included stewed chicken barbecued chicken, curried pork stew, fried tilapia and spaghetti. Sides were steamed vegetables, rice and beans, potato salad, and coleslaw or cooked cabbage. The fresh salsas were incredibly flavorful, and the habanero hot sauce was in jars on the table. Desserts were simple and delicious. They included bread pudding and some cinnamon and plain cakes without frosting. The food was absolutely delicious, and because we were active all day, and didn't snack between meals, we ate quite a bit, and felt incredibly healthy with such a good diet. I managed to clean my plate at every meal, something I don't often do when I am home.

We traveled with our guide Peter on a large white bus, driven expertly on the bumpy and dusty roads up and down the mountains by Stanley, assisted by Daniel. The three Belizeans made our trip special, because they bonded with our group after just a day or so, and they "hung out" with us on the various excursions or after mealtime. Peter and Stanley (as well as Tom) sang some songs and played the guitar. It was relaxed and fun. I can't imagine that anyone missed television or computers. We had a simple, good, full time.

The last two days of the trip were on Ambergris Caye on the Caribbean. We stayed a short walk to the beach at Steve & Becky's Cute Little Motel, and though we missed the traditional cooking of the TEC, we enjoyed some nice meals out in San Pedro. The motel was quaint and clean, and for the first time that week, I actually used a hairdryer. We had such perfect weather all week long, I don't think I would change one thing about the itinerary. Our digs were delightful.

About Belize

Some of the readers of TBZ Blog may be interested in learning a little bit more about the country of Belize. Recently, Tom led a group of students and friends on a week-long trip to Belize. The group spent 5 wonderful days and nights based out of the Tropical Education Center at The Belize Zoo. In addition to some special visits to Zoo (posts to follow), the group took a number of side trips around the country. As a participant on the trip, I jotted a number of notes and took some photos to share.

Before traveling to Belize for the first time, I wasn't exactly sure where in the world it was. I knew it was in Central America, but I had to look at a map. The following quick facts about Belize may be of interest:

During the 19th century, Belize was referred to as British Honduras, after being colonized in the mid-19th century by England. It is by that name that many people of a certain generation remember it. It was a rich landscape colonized by the British for their interest in exporting mahogany. In 1974, the name for the colony changes from British Honduras to Belize, in anticipation of its independence. In 1981, Belize became independent from England. Though still a member of the British system, with the Queen as its symbolic head, it is now a sovereign democracy with a prime minister. They have municipal elections every three years, and a general election every five years. There are two primary political parties, both fairly centrist.

Throughout its history, Belize has disputed borders with Guatemala, and it has been the location of geographic rivalry between English and Spanish colonists. A fairly complete summary can be found at Wikipedia.

Today, the population of Belize is approximately 300,000 people. It's geographic size is similar to that of the state of Massachusetts, or about 800,000 square miles of land. There are five major ethnic groups that comprise modern Belize: Creole (Kriol), Mestizo, Maya, Garifuna (shipwrecked African Slaves from French sovereign areas), and Spanish. There are also sizable populations of Mennonites (Europeans who left Germany before the WWII and emigrated on a zig zag path across the Atlantic and south through Mexico to Belize in the 1950s), as well as Chinese, Lebanese, East Indian's and Arabs. Belize is also home to refugees from Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. According to our expert guide Peter, there are not a lot of racial tensions in this multi-racial country. He attributes this to the fact that it is a small country with a lot of interdependence and intermarriage. The Belizean Constitution prohibits discrimination. The main religion in Belize is Roman Catholicism, but we saw evidence of a number of different Christian churches throughout.

Most people in Belize speak three languages: English, Spanish, and Creole, with Creole being a uniting vernacular with 98% of people speaking Creole. (Similar to that throughout Central America, it is an English-based Creole rather than the French-based Creole of Louisiana.) All schooling is in English. Primary education is free and compulsory. Secondary education is free (must pass an entrance exam for private education). All higher education must be paid for through tuition and fees.

The export economy includes citrus concentrate, bananas, seafood, and lumber. Agriculture is a very large industry within the economy of Belize. Tourism is also a very large part of the Belizean economy, with 1 in 4 people estimated as being employed in some aspect of tourism. Belize has 3 of the 4 barrier reefs in the world that are "underwater mountains" caused when plate tectonics exposed the tops of mountains, and the erosion of the tops created lagoons. Belize is a country of cayes (keys) and mainland rainforest. Twenty percent of the vegetation is pine savanna. We passed areas that looked clear cut, but Peter explained that fire is a part of the natural ecosystem, and in the dry season, with windy periods, pine cones heat up and fires spread, dispersing flammable seeds -- a symbiotic process.
Belize City was the capital of Belize until 1961, when Hurricane Hattie ripped through, leveling the city. This caused leaders to relocate the capital to Belmopan, in a more central and secure location. There are approximately 16-18,000 people in Belmopan, the administrative center of the country. Belize City, however, remains the largest and busiest city in the country, with an estimated 70,000 people. Belize is a developing country. Most of the people there seem happy and productive. People were very friendly and open and relaxed. I am trying to maintain that Belize state of mind!

Our trip involved five days on the mainland, mostly in the central regions (Cayo and Belize districts), and two days on Ambergris Caye (the largest of the Cayes). After two trips to Belize, I still don't feel like I've seen enough. I hope to go back some time soon, and I highly recommend that you check it out! There are so many things to see and so much to learn. This was not a "luxury vacation" trip per se, but it was most definitely a learning adventure that has changed my life for the better.

Remember, to enlarge a map or photo, simply click on the image.]

Internships at the Belize Zoo

Internship opportunities abound at the Belize Zoo. Puja Kalaria, from Great Britian, is interning at the zoo as part of the Personal Overseas Development Program (for more information about Personal Overseas Development visit their website at www.thepodsite.co.uk). These photos of Puja feeding the zoo's magnificent Harpy Eagle Daqueen, and getting a high five from "Spokesjaguar" Junior Buddy show the kind of experiences that await Belize Zoo interns. For more information about the Belize Zoo's internship program check out the zoo's website. The State University of New York (SUNY) awards college credit for zoo internships as part of SUNY Cortland's Belize Development Internship Program. For more information about SUNY Cortland's Belize Development Internship Program send an e-mail to thomas.pasquarello@cortland.edu.

Today Show visits the Belize Zoo

from Cortland the Margay....

We had a lot of excitement at the zoo recently when Kerry Sanders from NBC's Today Show paid a visit! He talked with Sharon about Tapirs (the national animal of Belize) and King Vultures, and got up close and personal with a playful Kotamundi. He even got a kiss from my buddy Junior Buddy the Jaguar! To see a video of his visit click here, and to read what Kerry had to say about his visit click here. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to visit with Kerry because my Mom and I are off-exhibit for a while to make sure I have plenty of time to play with her and all my zookeeper friends so I can grow up big and strong. Before I get back to playing I just want to remind you that the Belize Zoo depends entirely on admissions and donations to make ends meet, and we are feeling the pinch from the global economic crisis like everyone else, so please visit the zoo's website and make a donation so I can get new pair of gloves to chew on for Christmas!

Zoo Project CD Release Party

Hi! I'm Cortland the Margay (hangin' out in this photo with my Mom, Sweetgirl), and I'd like to invite you to the Belize Zoo Project CD Release Party at Lucky's on Main Street in Cortland this Friday, October 10, at 7:30PM. Several great bands will be performing as you can see from the poster, including SUNY Cortland's own Rock and Blues Ensemble, so please stop by and celebrate with some great live music. The CD Release Party is free and open to the public, and we'll be accepting donations for the zoo at the door. Anyone who donates $5 or more will get a free copy of the Belize Zoo Project CD (a $10 value). If you scroll back through the old posts you can hear a song about my pal "Jr. Buddy" by some faculty members of the Rock and Blues Ensemble.

For those of you who are interested in how things have been going for me, the answer is "great!" My Mom has been taking great care of me and keeping me sheltered from all the rain we've been having in Belize recently, so watch this space for more stories and photos about me.

By the way, if you'd like to travel to Belize and meet me in person there are still a few seats open on the Belize Zoo Project trip to the zoo this January 3-10. For more information send an e-mail to Belizezootour@gmail.com.