GENA AT THE BELIZE ZOO

I spent two weeks doing my internship at the Belize Zoo. For most of my days there, I helped the zookeepers with animal care duties such as food preparation, food delivery, watering the animals and cleaning their enclosures. I worked with several different keepers, so I was working with different types of animals each day. The highlight of my experience was being able to hand-feed the jaguars. It was a dream-come-true to be so close to those powerful and beautiful cats. The Belize Zoo prides itself on being “the best little zoo in the world” and I would have to agree with that. The animals are kept in very natural enclosures and most of the time it is only wood and wire fencing that separates the animals from the visitors, so you get an up close and personal look at the animals. The zoo is also very active in education programs and teaching the public about Belize’s ecosystems and raising awareness to create appreciation of the natural world. In 2004, the zoo started a Problem Jaguar Rehabilitation Program. This program removes jaguars from the wild that have been killing livestock and exposes them to positive human contact to prepare them for life in a zoo. When they have completed the program they are then transferred to a zoo in North America for captive breeding programs. Right now, the zoo has about 8 jaguars in the program. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Belize Zoo and learned so much about many exotic creatures that I had never seen before. If you are ever in Belize, I would highly recommend taking a tour of the Belize Zoo.