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| Exploring downtown Belize City with Julia and David. |
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| We got to spend a little over an hour at the Belize Zoo one day and check out some of the local wildlife. |
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The Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center prides itself on not taking any animals from the wild, discouraging poaching, and providing public education on conservation. |
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You can find out more about the Belize Zoo and its founder, Sharon Matola, and her efforts at www.belizezoo.org. |
A tayra. |
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| Why, it's a coatimundi, or coati. |
Pretty darn cute. They were all lazing about high in the trees as the sun went down. |
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| One of many Mayan sites in Belize: Altun Ha |
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The Temple of the Sun God -- where a 10 pound solid jade sculpture was uncovered among the bodies of Mayan priests from 600 A.D. |
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On our last day, Frank joined me for an excursion to the Community Baboon Sanctuary. |
Our guide was one of the first villagers who got together to set aside land for the local black howler monkeys. |
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| He took us for a walk through some of the jungle preserved between and among the village farms. He would make calls and offer fruit that would attract the howlers. |
They're obviously called "howlers" for the incredible screaming caterwaul they produce. Frank quickly joined in with our guide to mimic their howling. |
Both Duncan and I thought this was pretty funny to watch... |
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| ...and Duncan got quite into screaming back at the monkeys himself. |
Frank asked our guide what the monkeys might do if "someone" were to climb up one of the trees with them. Our guide couldn't say -- he hadn't seen anyone try! |
...and so up Frank went! |
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Well... the alpha male didn't like this at all. He screamed and agitated all the more. |
I found myself imagining having to tell some reporter, "Well, I guess it seemed like a good idea the time." |
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| In the end Frank came down without getting mauled or bitten. From the expression on our guide's face, imagine he won't be so willing to let someone do this again. |
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