Where’s the best place and time to see wildlife in Belize?
Giancarlo Vega
The Cockscomb Basin (pictured to the right) would be the best place to see wildlife as the basin is also known as the jaguar reserve. So if you are here you might just see a jaguar. The best time to see wildlife would be in the evening or at night. These tours you can do by yourself; no need for a guide.
The Cockscomb Basin (pictured to the right) would be the best place to see wildlife as the basin is also known as the jaguar reserve. So if you are here you might just see a jaguar. The best time to see wildlife would be in the evening or at night. These tours you can do by yourself; no need for a guide.
Posted December 1, 2014
Christian Burn
You will see all sorts of wildlife here in Belize. We have jaguars, monkeys, caribous, storks, and saltwater crocodiles. There is a gamut of wild life here. There is a nice zoo on the mainland called the Belize Zoo and it is spectacular. Sometimes you just have to be lucky. There were times when we we’re on a boat and see manatees or dolphins. Just yesterday, we had a whale come in. Seeing wildlife is not controlled, but there are definitely a lot of...
You will see all sorts of wildlife here in Belize. We have jaguars, monkeys, caribous, storks, and saltwater crocodiles. There is a gamut of wild life here. There is a nice zoo on the mainland called the Belize Zoo and it is spectacular. Sometimes you just have to be lucky. There were times when we we’re on a boat and see manatees or dolphins. Just yesterday, we had a whale come in. Seeing wildlife is not controlled, but there are definitely a lot of opportunities to see great creatures in this part of the world.
If you want to see wildlife, I would recommend you go to the zoo because walking around in the jungle for people who are not jungle-oriented is a very dangerous thing to do. We have a real jungle here in Belize, and it is full of poisonous trees, deadly snakes, scorpions, and tarantulas. There are no rebels in the forests here, but there are definitely creatures. If you go to the jungle, go with someone who knows what they are doing. Hire a guide; do not go to the jungle by yourself. It is not safe to go to the jungle anywhere in Belize by yourself.
Posted December 2, 2014
Therese Jonch - Programme for Belize
The best place to see wildlife in Belize depends on in which part of the country you are located. I can speak for what I know on the Rio Bravo, which is where we are. Rio Bravo is a protected area so you can see animals roaming around the area. You can see deer, fox, coatimundi, peccary (javalina, or skunk pig), and tapir, etc. The tapir is the national animal of the Belize pictured right.). It is related to the mountain cow. You can also see over 360 species of birds. At...
The best place to see wildlife in Belize depends on in which part of the country you are located. I can speak for what I know on the Rio Bravo, which is where we are. Rio Bravo is a protected area so you can see animals roaming around the area. You can see deer, fox, coatimundi, peccary (javalina, or skunk pig), and tapir, etc. The tapir is the national animal of the Belize pictured right.). It is related to the mountain cow. You can also see over 360 species of birds. At night, you can see pumas and jaguars in the wild.
The Rio Bravo is located in on the outskirts of the Orange Walk district, which is inland, in the northern part of the country of Belize.
Of course the wild is the wild and we just ask people to be as cautious as possible. But it's not like we have you out walking in the jungle in the middle of the night. The nocturnal safari tours is a guided tour in the back of the pick-up truck basically like a safari and you will be quite a distance away from the animals. You see them from afar and you have a spotlight. You can enjoy nature in a non-distractive way. You just watch the animals, you look at them in their natural habitat, and you let them be.
There are some people who look forward to experience of going out in the jungle at night so they want to camp, but we do not offer camping in Rio Bravo. We have cabanas and dormitory accommodation at our lodge. I would not recommend walking out in the jungle at night at all.
There are other protected areas around the country that offer guided tours such as the ones I listed. But the particular one that I described is in a private protected area. Within Belize, there are a lot of private protected areas.
There are also more protected areas that are government owns. The government sets up these areas as protected because they've seen the value of it and the importance of it to the country. Most of the protected areas in Belize are owned by the government, as opposed to privately owned. Rio Bravo is the largest privately owned protected area in Belize, so we're very proud of that.
The government-owned protected areas do have a small entrance fee to enter but that's pretty much it. Some of them offer accommodations and some don't.
The Rio Bravo is located in on the outskirts of the Orange Walk district, which is inland, in the northern part of the country of Belize.
Of course the wild is the wild and we just ask people to be as cautious as possible. But it's not like we have you out walking in the jungle in the middle of the night. The nocturnal safari tours is a guided tour in the back of the pick-up truck basically like a safari and you will be quite a distance away from the animals. You see them from afar and you have a spotlight. You can enjoy nature in a non-distractive way. You just watch the animals, you look at them in their natural habitat, and you let them be.
There are some people who look forward to experience of going out in the jungle at night so they want to camp, but we do not offer camping in Rio Bravo. We have cabanas and dormitory accommodation at our lodge. I would not recommend walking out in the jungle at night at all.
There are other protected areas around the country that offer guided tours such as the ones I listed. But the particular one that I described is in a private protected area. Within Belize, there are a lot of private protected areas.
There are also more protected areas that are government owns. The government sets up these areas as protected because they've seen the value of it and the importance of it to the country. Most of the protected areas in Belize are owned by the government, as opposed to privately owned. Rio Bravo is the largest privately owned protected area in Belize, so we're very proud of that.
The government-owned protected areas do have a small entrance fee to enter but that's pretty much it. Some of them offer accommodations and some don't.
Posted April 8, 2015
Raul Rodriguez
There is no specific time when it is best to see wildlife in Belize because you could basically see wildlife all year round. I highly recommend bird watching here in Belize, which is best in mid-November to April. We have different small mammals that most of North America does not have. If you want to see mammals and be able to feed them, you have to be out in the jungles. We have small mammals such as armadillos and gibnuts. A gibnut is a huge...
There is no specific time when it is best to see wildlife in Belize because you could basically see wildlife all year round. I highly recommend bird watching here in Belize, which is best in mid-November to April. We have different small mammals that most of North America does not have. If you want to see mammals and be able to feed them, you have to be out in the jungles. We have small mammals such as armadillos and gibnuts. A gibnut is a huge rodent, which is nicknamed “The Royal Rat.” It is a delicacy so it is very expensive and it is against the law to hunt it. It is very delicious. It takes something like pork and beef. When Queen Elizabeth came to Belize sometime around 1993, she was served gibnut for dinner. It made headlines in the tabloids in the UK. The queen was fed The Royal Rat in Belize.
There are also lots of monkeys in certain areas of Belize. We have monkeys on the Belize River and we even have a sanctuary that is dedicated to the protection and preservation of Black Howler Monkeys in Belize. The sanctuary is called the Community Baboon Sanctuary. It is a community of landowners along the Belize River who came together to protect the land and the Black Howler Monkeys.
There are also jaguars in Belize but honestly, it is hard to see them because they are nocturnal and the chance of seeing one in the jungles is very low. I have been in this industry for 12 years and I could count only five of my guests who have reported seeing a jaguar in the wild in Belize. They are endangered but they are not dangerous. I am sure that they see you more than you see them in the jungle. My guests who told me that they’ve seen a jaguar said that the jaguars just walked away. They are very shy creatures. I have not heard of anybody that has been attacked by a jaguar here.
(Jaguar crossing the road on the Hummingbird Highway, Belize, pictured.)
Posted March 11, 2016