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Belize Zoo » Belize Zoo
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#1
Belize Zoo
19-11-2008
there's nothing new in this story about Belize Zoo but it is a recent press item and there's nothing about the zoo on the forum yet, so here it is (there are some videos on the link too)
A Belize zoo: Tapirs, vultures and jaguars...oh my! - allDAY - msnbc.com Quote:
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#2
21-11-2008
When Matola was working on the documentary, all those years ago, a lot of the animals were kept on the property of the film-maker (forgotten his name). They built large studios around the native vegetation so they could film the animals in "realistic" environments.
When filming was complete, the film-maker wanted to just release the animals. Many were tame, so Matola decided to use them to start the zoo. The zoo was, for many years, on the film-maker's property (he'd gone back to the States or Europe and didn't live there anymore). In the early 90's the zoo moved to a new site across the road. In the early days Matola painted all the signs and labels in the zoo on whatever she coud find, because there was virtually no money to run the zoo. The Baird's Tapir, Belize's National Animal, was known colloquially as the Bushcow, and superstition told how they would come into your home at night and - using their proboscis - would suck your brains while you slept. Another reason why she wanted to educate the children. Despite having no money, all school groups visiting the zoo got free entry. I haven't been to the zoo since 1990, so I imagine lots of things have changed since then. Some of the photo's I've uploaded to the gallery illustrate how tough times were in the early days. The Morelets Crocodile pool, for instance, has a wooden fence to stop people from getting too close. The fence was only about 40 feet long, and in a modern zoo in Australia/USA/Europe you would have a continual stream of people walking around the fence, or going under or over it.  Hix |
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