Cockscomb Basin Jaguar Preserve, Lighthouse Reef, Belize
What a tremendous day! We began our day bright and early in search of one of the most elusive rainforest creatures, the Jaguar. The Jaguar is the third largest cat species in the World, and a number of them are known to wander the 20 miles of trails found inside the 128,000 acre Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Preserve. We ventured out on a number of these trails, the Rubber Tree Trail, the Waterfall trail and the River trail, where we spotted all manner of wildlife.
The wildlife sightings included many species of rain-forest birds, such as Black-headed trogons, green honeycreepers, numerous hummingbirds, dramatic crimson collared tanagers, red-capped manakins, white-collared manakins displaying in a “lek”, and green kingfishers diving into South Stann Creek. Some of us also spent some time diving into the river, behaving as the kingfisher had, but our goal was simply to cool off.
We all trekked back to the visitor center, and it was here we spotted the creature pictured, we came in search of a felid, but were delighted with great views of a canid, the gray fox. This fox is a remarkable creature, noteworthy because of his ability to climb trees – an arboreal dog species!
We departed the Cockscomb Basin, happy with our all too brief immersion into this amazing ecosystem. We then sailed a little further south, inside the protected waters of the Belize Barrier Reef and ended our day exploring the Sapodilla Lagoon and Cabbage Haul Creek aboard Zodiacs and kayaks – another very active and fulfilling day exploring the Reefs and Rivers of the Mayan World.
What a tremendous day! We began our day bright and early in search of one of the most elusive rainforest creatures, the Jaguar. The Jaguar is the third largest cat species in the World, and a number of them are known to wander the 20 miles of trails found inside the 128,000 acre Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Preserve. We ventured out on a number of these trails, the Rubber Tree Trail, the Waterfall trail and the River trail, where we spotted all manner of wildlife.
The wildlife sightings included many species of rain-forest birds, such as Black-headed trogons, green honeycreepers, numerous hummingbirds, dramatic crimson collared tanagers, red-capped manakins, white-collared manakins displaying in a “lek”, and green kingfishers diving into South Stann Creek. Some of us also spent some time diving into the river, behaving as the kingfisher had, but our goal was simply to cool off.
We all trekked back to the visitor center, and it was here we spotted the creature pictured, we came in search of a felid, but were delighted with great views of a canid, the gray fox. This fox is a remarkable creature, noteworthy because of his ability to climb trees – an arboreal dog species!
We departed the Cockscomb Basin, happy with our all too brief immersion into this amazing ecosystem. We then sailed a little further south, inside the protected waters of the Belize Barrier Reef and ended our day exploring the Sapodilla Lagoon and Cabbage Haul Creek aboard Zodiacs and kayaks – another very active and fulfilling day exploring the Reefs and Rivers of the Mayan World.
