Equipo Williams

A couple days ago we went to the Belize Zoo. We wanted to learn about northern central American animals so we went here to learn. We walked in and got our tickets, then headed into the zoo. 

The first exhibit was a snake exhibit in which we saw the feared fer de lance, or lance head. These things can kill you pretty quickly and are in no way shy, in fact, they are fairly aggressive and will bite you if you mess with them. We also saw two other non-venomous snakes that live in Belize.

We asked through the pathways of the zoos and saw such animals así vultures, kinkajous, spider monkeys, and tapirs. The tapirs were my favorite because they were so peaceful and calm. They also happen to be the national animal of Belize and we were informed of how to keep them safe from speeding cars on highways. 

After that, we saw pumas, jaguars, alligators, crocodiles, jabiru storks, margays, and parrots. The parrots, or at least one parrot, could say hello, and we spent about half an hour just saying hello to them. Syd wanted to teach it bad words, but we decided that might be unwelcome among visitors and staff. Once we had seen all of the animals, we ate some lunch and left.

Here comes the highlight of this post. This was the absolute most memorable thing that I experienced at this zoo, and possibly any zoo ever. We were at the puma enclosure, but we couldn’t see any pumas, and as any Audrey would, I was getting very bored. So, I left and walked up ahead to the next exhibit. This was the jaguar enclosure. I looked into the enclosure but couldn’t see any jaguars so I started to read the sign. This jaguar, named Chiqui after the Chiriqui River in which it was found, was an orphan and had been brought to the zoo to live a long healthy life. I was very engrossed in the story. I was just standing there, being nice and still and quiet, and not noticing anything around me except for the sign. I finished reading the sign and turned back towards the enclosure to see if I could catch a glimpse of Chiqui. I did. In fact I got a very good glimpse of Chiqui, especially his teeth. As soon as I turned towards the fence, he pounced on me, clearly seeing me as an easy lunch. The fence stopped him from actually eating me, but it didn’t stop him from snarling and trying to eat me. It also didn’t stop me from shrieking and running back to the parents where I told them my story. 

Since then I have had multiple nightmares in which I’ve been eaten by jaguars or almost eaten. I’ve also reconsidered my approval on Syd’s wanting a cat. But, it was a good story and I’m glad it happened. That is my story of the Belize Zoo and I hope you come away not wanting to try to aggravate or tempt a large carnivorous cat.