Belize Day 2: Belize Zoo

A couple of boys join me to look at the tapir. 

To tell you the truth, I am not a big fan of zoos. Never really like to see creatures caged up. This zoo was a little different. The animals are in their natural habitat and the humans are fenced off from them. The bus dropped us off in front of a dirt road with a sign to the zoo. We started our trek not knowing how far we had to go. It wasn't too long before we reached the entrance, plunked down our $16BZ each and entered.

The wildlife includes tapirs, howler monkeys, black panthers, jaguar, and a harpy eagle to name a few. We were warned to watch out for the Tapirs because they like to pee on visitors. We luckily didn't get sprayed. 

The zoo has entertaining signs that are hand painted and talk about the animals. We came across a nine-month-old jaguar named Junior that was playing with a large purple ball. He was like a giant kitten with really, really big claws.

As we walked through the zoo, I noticed a few little blood spots on Diane's leg. It dawned on us that we were being eaten by mosquitoes. We pulled the bug spray out of the backpack and lathered up our exposed areas. The skeeters didn't bite us after that. Too bad I wouldn't remember this later on during the trip.

The zoo trail led back to the gift shop. I purchased an ice cream bar and it never tasted so good. A young local girl sat next to me with her ice cream. She told me about all the interesting animals she had seen. I noticed that her her folks were smiling at the two us. 

We finished our ice cream treats and said goodbye. It was time to catch the next bus to San Ignacio.

Next: San Ignacio
Location: The Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center, Mile 29 George Price Hwy, La Democracia, Belize

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