There's
something about the Jaguar that has always captured my imagination - the power,
the grace, the elusiveness. While I never expect to see one in the wild,
the hope is always that if we are in the right habitat at the right
time.... So in July of 2005 we decided that Belize offered the perfect
combination of jungles, rainforests, rivers, and coral reef to explore.
We
traveled through the pine savannah of the Mountain Pine Ridge Reserve, the open
farmland of Spanish Lookout, and hiked the the tropical forests of the Mayflower
Bocawina National Park and the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary (Jaguar
Preserve) before finishing up with a bit of snorkeling at Laughing Bird Cay off
of Placencia.
While
the Jaguar eluded us again, we were captivated by stories while staying in
Bocawina NP from a family that had 5 or 6 sightings while spending time there
off and on over 5 months. We did get to see a Margay - see our wildlife
photos - nestled in a tree resting during the day, which is a magical sight in
and of itself.