THE ENTIRE BELIZE ZOO IS NOW ACCESSIBLE!

News from Sharon and Jamal!

After two years of fund-raising and design work and then actual on-the-ground work, the zoo is now 100 percent accessible.  The rose-coloured pathways no longer stop and go, they simply GO!   And lots of happy moments are to be had for anyone with diverse abilities.  Some of the zoo animals come close up to see their wheelchair visitors.  Not used to seeing kids or adults in “moving chairs," the animal curiosity is also fun to observe.

Our help has come from various sincere and kind sources.  No words can fully serve to sufficiently thank the State University of New York (SUNY) at Cortland, who not only raised funds for this important project, but then their students and instructor all came to Belize to assist in building the pathways.  Pathway construction supervisor, Mr. Max was skeptical seeing his young female assistants come on board.  However, he quickly changed his initial “first opinion” when these young ladies eagerly pushed wheelbarrows and shoveled cement, day after day!  “Girl power” to the max, Mr. Max!

Local business contributions also assisted our efforts.  As did a superb gift from Mr. Peter Hughes and his colleagues at the British High Commission.  Our area representative,  Hon. Dolores Balderamos,  kindly made a contribution to show her support of this work.   Last December, while still not fully finished, the Belize Assembly for People with Diverse Abilities (BAPDA) came to the zoo to celebrate World Disabilities Day.  Smiling kids in wheelchairs glided down the pathways and saw our jaguars and toucans.  “Rose” the crocodile made an appearance to add to the magic of the celebration, while officials from BAPDA excitedly spoke about returning  so that all could experience the fun and excitement  again.

Each week, our zoo crew sees more and more wheelchair using visitors.  And visitors who do the “walk about” frequently comment on the pathways, too.  “It’s fun to walk on," - we often hear that statement.  Due to the pathway construction technique, perfected by long-term zoo employee, Tony Garel, the air and gravel mixture with just the right amount of cement, provides a bit of a “cushion” for all of our zoo visitors.  And for parents with strollers, a zoo visit is an easy visit, and a delight for stroller-passengers, too.

At this time, The Belize Zoo is the only nature destination in Belize

which is accessible.  We are proud and happy about this accomplishment!   Good Zoo?  We have always been a very good zoo.  However, now we truly are, “The Best Little Zoo in the World."

ZOO PATHWAY POUNCES FORWARD!

From Sharon...

In its second year of development, the beautiful accessible pathway which winds its way throughout The Best Little Zoo in the world, STILL is not fully complete.  The project is a costly one.  Although funds were raised both in Belize and from foreign donors, more were needed to see the work go forward into a final and happy finished phase.

Pathway Event - March 2014

The month of March has proven to be a magical month for Belize Zoo pathway progress.  First off, a request for funding help which was submitted to the British High Commission, received a thumbs up!  These good folks see the imperative need to have the zoo be accessible for all.  They share our vision that the beauty of the zoo and its great character will have an everlasting place in Belizean society as a caring and forward-thinking institution.  Wheelchairs, walkers, canes and strollers can easily travel the rose-coloured zoo pathway.  Presently, the zoo is the only nature destination in Belize which is accessible, and we hope that this is a trend which will grow to other destinations in our country.

Then, our long-standing friends from SUNY Cortland, in New York, arrived to actually do the manual labour required to expand the pathway!  Nine students, under the competent direction of Professor Vicki Wilkins, took the hot weather in stride, as they pushed wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow full of stone chips to the pathway site.  Except for one lone male, the SUNY Cortland pathway crew was a crew of young women who had tons of determination and enthusiasm.  Would the portion of the pathway targeted for completion really happen?  The time schedule was brutal.  They had four days before a small event would happen, announcing the new portion of the zoo which was now (hopefully) accessible.

Accessible Walkway Gets a Big Boost

Thanks to their hard work and determination, yes!  The deadline was met.  The SUNY Cortland group had also spent time fund-raising for this good effort before arriving to Belize.  Their generous contribution, along with that of the British High Commission, will nearly see the entire pathway become a “done deal”.  But more happy surprises were to be had.  Our area representative, Hon. Dolores Balderamos, came to attend the ceremony.  She noted that the zoo was consistent in including the children from neighboring La Democracia and Mahogany Heights in its many programs and activities.  She strongly believes in the need for the zoo to become fully accessible to ALL Belizeans.  In the not-so-distant past, Ms. Dolores provided funding support to see that our accessible washroom could be built.  It was, and is often used by those with diverse abilities.  On this day of celebration, Ms. Dolores presented a check which will assist in the final stages of the development of our much-needed, much-appreciated accessible pathway.

Also present at the ceremony were key members of the Belize Assembly for People with Diverse Abilities, BAPDA.  Ms. Eve Middleton provided all with an overview of the difficulties which those who have various disabilities face on a daily basis here in our country.  She applauded the efforts The Belize Zoo has made to provide a place of fun and recreation for those people who so need an out-of-doors destination to enjoy with friends and family.

The Belize Zoo thanks SUNY Cortland, The British High Commission, Hon. Dolores Balderamos, BAPDA, and our good friends, LOVE FM, for continued support, encouragement and fine friendship.  

CALEDONIA TURNS ON TO JAGUARS!

"Justicia" the Jaguar (aka Celeshia Guy, of TBZ)

[The Belize Zoo & Tropical Education Center recently shared this article pertaining to the preceding post. Enjoy!]

Just a few weeks ago, a sad event occurred in the Corozal District town of Caledonia. A healthy male jaguar was shot and then skinned. Horrifically, it was shown on the news and many people voiced harsh objection to this unfortunate and unnecessary action.

However, recently, Belize Zoo Education Officers, Jamal Andrewin and Celeshia Guy, created a different “Jumpin Jaguar” atmosphere in this placid northern village. Warmly welcomed by principal Augusto Olivarez, they met and gave fun presentations to over 300 students.

Principal Olivarez kindly invited parents and teachers and the “standing room only” audience was keen to learn all they could about the greatest cat in the Americas: our jaguar. Besides discussing jaguars in Belize, our charming “Junior Buddy” got much review, as did the Problem Jaguar Rehabilitation program, and of course, beloved black jaguar “Lucky Boy”.

No need to kill a jaguar who wanders through one’s lands. These big felines are “roamers”, and it has been documented that a jaguar will easily travel 100 miles in a day in search of a juicy gibnut, deer or peccary. The Belize Zoo has successfully maintained its Problem Jaguar Rehab program. “Junior Buddy”, our star, is residing at the zoo as a result of this program. And happily, a young male jaguar, named “Lucha” was born at the Phildadelphia Zoo over a year ago. His dad was a problem jaguar, named “Frankie”, who was a gift to the Philadelphia Zoo from Belize. All were pleased to learn this.

Of course! The vital Central Belize Wildlife Corridor was spoken about with pride. As time passes, these forested lands will play an even more important role in maintaining our remaining jaguar populations. Lots of applause from the crowd on this issue!

A stark display came about when the skin of a jaguar was brought out for all to see. While the dull and unattractive skin was viewed, there was a large photo of gorgeous “Junior Buddy” gleaming in the background. That message was very clear. What is more appealing? The decayed and sad-looking jaguar skin held for all to inspect, or the glowing look at our incredible natural heritage, the nothing-short-of-being-too-beautiful for words, “Junior Buddy” himself!

Justice and Justicia the jaguar mascots handed out posters and poems to all and it was a terrific day for everyone. Sure would be nice to have a visit to The Best Little Zoo in the World from the kind and charming people of Caledonia - quite a few happy jaguars would enjoy giving a “high five” to these special kids and their teachers!

LITTLE GUY AND JOLLEY GO TO SCHOOL!

From Sharon . . .

Still considered to be “nestlings,” Barn Owl Ambassadors Little Guy and Jolley have begun visiting schools, bringing exciting information to kids about their species. The barn owl is one very incredible bird. They are so unique, and are separated from the “typical owls”. Barn owls do not HOOT, their call is more of a low HISSSS and they make a variety of vocalizations, which would cause an eyebrow to raise along with this thought: “WHAT IN THE WORLD IS MAKING THAT SOUND?”

Such strange “barn owl speak,” has given them an unfair reputation. “Evil” and “Bird of Death” are commonly attached to the barn owl profile in Belize. In the book, If Di Pin NeVa Ben, Folktales and Legends of Belize, the barn owl, or “Soch,” has this written to describe it: “The Soch is a diabolical bird. You know that it is near when you hear that terrible sound: “GUACH!!”….when you hear that horrible sound over your house at night, you know someone is going to die”.

The call of the barn owl may indicate something indeed is going to die, however, the doomed is not a person, but a RAT! Barn owls eat more rats than any other animal on the planet. Years ago, our Animal Management Supervisor, Tony Garel, would visit barn owl roosts and collect their food pellets. By doing this, Tony could see just what the owls were feasting upon. 100 percent of their casted pellets consisted of the same prey: Charlie Price! They have excellent vision, both for day and night time, and are on a constant hunt for a juicy rat to feast upon.

Unlike the typical owls, the barn owl will roost in groups. In Belize, they are found in the rafters of old buildings, holes in trees, and quiet, tucked away places. They are found all over the world, except for desert and arctic regions. In many places, barn owls are becoming extremely rare. It has been noted that they are likely to be gone forever in England within 10 years. In parts of their United States range, they are undergoing a serious decline. Barn owl ambassadors Little Guy and Jolley want to change the way people in Belize feel about their species. Mr. Max Torres in Orange Walk, rescued Little Guy and Jolley, after they had been discovered in the rafters of a building. Instead of being killed, the owl babies were given to the zoo. Zoo Director and owl fan, Sharon Matola, quickly saw that the Barn Owl Ambassador program quickly took shape.

Little Guy and Jolley have already made star performances at Hummingbird Elementary School in Belize City. They make weekly calls to La Democracia pre school, where the students closely monitor their growth and sing to them their “barn owl song.” Each week, the pre-schoolers learn a new fact about their barn owl buddies. Little Guy and Jolley are excellent barn owl ambassadors, and will see that their exquisite species will attain an owl profile so very well-deserved: The barn owl is a special treasure for Belize. Protect them !

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).

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.

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.