Visit the Belize Zoo, the best little zoo in the world!
The Belize Zoo is small but one of my favourite zoos. Why is that? Updated Mar 2023.
1. Unique animals
There are no bears or elephants. All the animals in the Belize Zoo are native Belizean species.
Mammals: The Belize zoo has Spider and Howler Monkeys, coatimundis, white-lipped peccaries, nocturnal tapirs and the five species of wild cats that inhabit the Belize jungles.
Birds: The zoo has some of Belize’s most spectacular birds, including the parrots, toucans, King Vulture, Jabiru Stork, Scarlet Macaw and the impressive Harpy Eagle. The Harpy Eagle is one of the most amazing animals I have ever seen. This giant raptor eats monkeys and other large jungle mammals. They are very rare in Belize. The zoo works with other organizations to release and conserve them in the wild. Seeing a Harpy Eagle close up was a thrill, and it is worth visiting the Belize Zoo just to see this magnificent bird.
Reptiles and Amphibians: The zoo is home to the two crocodile species living in Belize; the Morelet’s and the American Crocodile. Their collection of snakes includes the deadly Fer-de-lance and Boa Constrictor.
2. No animals captured from the wild
All the animals in the Belize Zoo were acquired as orphans, injured animals, removed from the illegal pet trade, donated by other zoos, received from former pet owners who no longer wanted the animals or were born at the zoo. They never remove any animals from the wild to put in the zoo.
3. Conservation
The Belize Zoo is not only a zoo. It is actively engaged in conserving Belizean animals and releasing them back into the wild.
4. Education
Before the Belize Zoo was established in 1983, most of the children of Belize had never seen any of their native wildlife. The zoo is actively teaching Belize’s children about their native animals. There are workshops for teachers that can be used in the school curriculum. More than 12,000 students visit the zoo annually on school trips.
All of the above photos by Tony Roth were provided courtesy of the Belize Zoo. All of the following images are my own. All photographs on My Thatched Hut, whether my own or the property of others, are copyrighted and may not be copied without permission of the owner.
5. The Jungle Lodge
The zoo maintains a few cabins in the jungle where visitors can stay overnight and experience a nocturnal zoo tour. As some of the animals are nocturnal, daytime visitors never see them. I stayed in the cabin in the photo for a few days. The screened-in porch allows you to watch the wildlife without getting eaten by mosquitoes. Also, there is a trail if you wish to go hiking in the jungle. For an extra charge, people staying at the lodge can arrange a nocturnal tour of the zoo to see animals that day-time visitors never see. If you go to the Belize Zoo, I highly recommend staying overnight at their Jungle Lodge.
Animals Encounters
For an extra fee, you can have a private interaction with some of the animals. We chose to go on the Jaguar Encounter. In this experience, a few people are placed in a cage, and a Jaguar is let loose into the compound. This gives you a unique perspective, from an animal’s point-of-view, of being inside a cage with a large carnivore on the outside. Also, it allows you to see this large cat at a very close range. You can even feed the Jaguar little scraps of meat by hand through the cage, but I was not brave enough to try that. I need all my fingers to operate the camera. There are also close encounters with the Scarlet Macaw and other animals. This is a unique experience and quite thrilling.
Adventure
The zoo can also arrange adventure trips like cave tubing or canoeing on the Sibun River.
Links
I have visited a lot of zoos around the world. My two favourites are the massive San Diego Zoo and the little Belize Zoo. If you ever visit Belize, do not leave without a visit to this small but wonderful zoo. Here are some links for more information:
HI Alex, No zoo is perfect but the animals in the Belize Zoo are better off than they were in their previous circumstances. None are captured from the wild just to put in a zoo. I have put off my trip to Australia until next winter. I am thinking of going to Cuba next.
Hi Tom,
I see you are travelling to the south. I guess you go to México. Finally, will you go to Australia?
The Belize´s Zoo seems amazing,but in my opinion, in most of the zoo´s the animals seem sad. I can imagine your excitement seeing the arpy eagle, I ve watched a video footage where an arpy eagle catches a sloth of a tree. The are very strong.
Enjoy a lot Tom !!!
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Hi Cindy, Thank you for your comments. I travel a lot and visit many zoos. The Belize Zoo is small but is one of my favourites.
Neat, we moved from San Diego to Texas and figure it will be hard to compete with the Wild Animal Park and Zoo in Southern, California. The Belize Zoo sounds fascinating and it’s great that it is a conservation effort vs. a showplace. We have a conservation park about an hour away and the other day a giraffe’s head was inside our vehicle! Zoos in other countries must have looser standards when it comes to protecting the public – after traveling around a bit I can understand why 🙂 Humans in a cage being reviewed by a jaguar on his own turf is definitely a once in a lifetime experience! http://www.homegrownfun.com