Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary

     We started the day with a delightful breakfast at 7:15 am, followed by our new daily theme song of “Good Morning Belize “ on the bus. The day was spent at Monkey Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. It is a field research facility and environmental education center. We had an opportunity to drink fresh coconut milk. Following a lecture on the over 3,000 acres that make up the sanctuary, we hiked about 1.5 miles through three ecosystems, the broadleaf, savanna, and river rain forest. Our guides were so very knowledgeable and answered all our many questions. Favorite sites of the hike were the termite nests, controlled burn effects, epiphytes, bromeliads and various palms. The conservation research and efforts there are amazing. 

     After a wonderful Belizian lunch, complete with washing our dishes with rain water, we headed down for water research with PhD candidate, Jake. Students measured off 50 meters of the Sibun River and estimated the percentages of four quadrants.  Each quadrant was a bottom substrate type, and percentages were used to determine the appropriate sampling size for each area. Invertebrates were collected using D nets. Surveying the invertebrates in a river system can determine the health of a river. One particularly interesting find was a megaloptera, pictured. The overall health determined on this survey was good to moderate health. 

     Next, was an even closer look at the Sibun River with a 3 mile canoe trek.  We saw lots of birds, bats napping on a tree and sunning iguana. The highlight was getting to see a tapir by the river’s edge, pictured. The guide had never spotted a tapir by the water and it had been 4 years since he had seen one in the wild of the sanctuary. We did see tracks earlier in the day on the hike. What an interesting creature!  We are headed for dinner, then a night hike. More pictures will get uploaded, later. Here are a few favorites!