Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Preserve and Laughing Bird Cay
In the wee hours of the morning, our expedition leader, Cindy made a gentle wake-up call over the PA of the Sea Lion. Captain Martin was positioning dockside near the remote community of Dangriga on the southern coast of Belize. Our morning destination was the Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Preserve, the only one of its kind in the world. This wildlife sanctuary is located approximately one hour from Dangriga in the Cockscomb Range of the Maya Mountains. It covers 102,000 acres of lush rain forest and is home to 25 to 30 jaguars roaming nearly 154 square miles of territory.
An early breakfast was served, and at 7:00 a.m. we were boarding two buses and making our way down the Hummingbird highway as the sun rose… large flocks of cattle and great egrets fished for breakfast along side the road, while high over our heads the Brazilian rose and the qwamwood trees, decorated in brilliant yellow flowers, added much color to the dawn skies.
Once in the preserve we divided into several groups and began a variety of walks in the misty early morning light….surrounded by the sounds of a waking rain forest. Our buses had parked in the center established by Alan Rabinowitz first as a research station, then as a National Forest Reserve, with a no-hunting provision of the jaguar. This made Belize the first country in the world to protect an area specifically for jaguars. Protection policies began in 1984, with the first full time wardens hired and moved onto the preserve by 1985. In what had once been a logging camp, Dr. Alan, as he is called by the local people, established a home and began not only a study of this unique rain forest and its inhabitants, but also followed a dream… in his words, he quotes Kafka, “the accomplishment of hopes remains an always unexpected miracle. But in compensation, the miracle remains forever possible.”
On paths littered with flowers from trees overhead, our groups began walks on some of the many trails within the preserve. We were accompanied by local guides whose knowledge of this diverse rain forest brought tremendous detail to every corner we turned! Aplomado falcons, a Montezuma oropendula trying to get a small boa out of a bromeliad, and Pygmy kingfisher were among the many species of birds seen. Hummingbirds, plain chachalacas and a dove added a tropical cacophony as we walked under a canopy of ever changing greens. Approaching the river, butterflies joined the visual feast in the air, while leaf-cutter ants on their enormous highways marched across our walking path. Sadly we began our return to the main headquarters and headed out of Cockscomb Preserve making a short stop at the Maya Women’s Center. There we could stop and speak with Maria and Frederica, asking about the many artists of the area who had contributed their work to this center for sale to tourists traveling through the area. As the ladies talked and laughed with us we were reminded of the longevity of human settlement to this area… the ancestors of these women regarded the land as a relative and the jaguar as an intermediary between the world of the Maya and their gods. With that connection the Mayan people often hang the mask of a jaguar in their homes to ward off depression… into their world we walked, along paths walked by the Mayan ancestors for thousands of years. Today, just a glimpse was offered of a place in human history, where people gathered together and agreed to protect the jaguars of Belize.
In the wee hours of the morning, our expedition leader, Cindy made a gentle wake-up call over the PA of the Sea Lion. Captain Martin was positioning dockside near the remote community of Dangriga on the southern coast of Belize. Our morning destination was the Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Preserve, the only one of its kind in the world. This wildlife sanctuary is located approximately one hour from Dangriga in the Cockscomb Range of the Maya Mountains. It covers 102,000 acres of lush rain forest and is home to 25 to 30 jaguars roaming nearly 154 square miles of territory.
An early breakfast was served, and at 7:00 a.m. we were boarding two buses and making our way down the Hummingbird highway as the sun rose… large flocks of cattle and great egrets fished for breakfast along side the road, while high over our heads the Brazilian rose and the qwamwood trees, decorated in brilliant yellow flowers, added much color to the dawn skies.
Once in the preserve we divided into several groups and began a variety of walks in the misty early morning light….surrounded by the sounds of a waking rain forest. Our buses had parked in the center established by Alan Rabinowitz first as a research station, then as a National Forest Reserve, with a no-hunting provision of the jaguar. This made Belize the first country in the world to protect an area specifically for jaguars. Protection policies began in 1984, with the first full time wardens hired and moved onto the preserve by 1985. In what had once been a logging camp, Dr. Alan, as he is called by the local people, established a home and began not only a study of this unique rain forest and its inhabitants, but also followed a dream… in his words, he quotes Kafka, “the accomplishment of hopes remains an always unexpected miracle. But in compensation, the miracle remains forever possible.”
On paths littered with flowers from trees overhead, our groups began walks on some of the many trails within the preserve. We were accompanied by local guides whose knowledge of this diverse rain forest brought tremendous detail to every corner we turned! Aplomado falcons, a Montezuma oropendula trying to get a small boa out of a bromeliad, and Pygmy kingfisher were among the many species of birds seen. Hummingbirds, plain chachalacas and a dove added a tropical cacophony as we walked under a canopy of ever changing greens. Approaching the river, butterflies joined the visual feast in the air, while leaf-cutter ants on their enormous highways marched across our walking path. Sadly we began our return to the main headquarters and headed out of Cockscomb Preserve making a short stop at the Maya Women’s Center. There we could stop and speak with Maria and Frederica, asking about the many artists of the area who had contributed their work to this center for sale to tourists traveling through the area. As the ladies talked and laughed with us we were reminded of the longevity of human settlement to this area… the ancestors of these women regarded the land as a relative and the jaguar as an intermediary between the world of the Maya and their gods. With that connection the Mayan people often hang the mask of a jaguar in their homes to ward off depression… into their world we walked, along paths walked by the Mayan ancestors for thousands of years. Today, just a glimpse was offered of a place in human history, where people gathered together and agreed to protect the jaguars of Belize.
