Did you know there is a community Baboon Sanctuary in Belize? Multiple towns are built around the Howler monkeys, allowing the Monkeys to live without the threat of people coming in and destroying their homes in the jungle and located on the North coast in Bermudian Landing. Established in 1985 where people pledged not to harm and destroy the habitats. This Santctuary covers Over 5,000 hectares of land with over 170 landowners sharing a like mind of protecting these beautiful Monkeys.
They have 5 goals for this protected area. To Conserve, Research, Educate, Participate in eco-tourism, and Engage in community development. They offer several different types of tours that you can go on. The main is a small hike in the area to potentially see the Howler Monkeys. The tour costs $10 per person and can take up to 45 minutes to complete. It is not a strenuous hike so you really can go at a leisurely pace. These are wild monkeys so you may not get to see them while you go for the walk.
On this trip, we decided to go to Bermudian Landing and take a chance in hopes of seeing the monkeys. The drive there was not too bad. We were heading to the North for a few days so this was the perfect midway stop to get out and move around before we continued. We arrived just before lunchtime and were greeted by a very friendly group. Robert (aka Bobby) introduced us to the people selling their locally-made items. They had paintings and wooden carvings on display for purchase. We had a quick chat with them and moved into a small building that is the museum.
Robert then briefly introduced what they do there and the types of animals in the area. Some fossils and other items were on display to help better educate people on the local animals in the area. Briefly, he explains how the sanctuary began and what they hope to accomplish. We paid for our tour and soon headed out expecting to see a howler monkey up close. Did I mention everything is done on a volunteer basis so Robert was volunteering his time to take us on a tour in hopes of seeing some Howler Monkeys?
We walked down the street and entered a walking trail into a wooded area. Even though we were in the town the trail is very peaceful. You are constantly looking out for potential Monkeys up in the trees. We were in luck the day we visited. We walked for 5 or 6 minutes when Amelia spotted something moving up in the trees. Some small monkeys were jumping from tree to tree. I was surprised at how small some of them were.
Robert got them to come to him where we would get to see them up close. He explains that it has taken him a long time to get the monkeys to trust him enough to get this close. Keep in mind these are wild howler monkeys. I was so excited to meet the monkeys in their natural habitat. Still keeping my distance I was in awe of these small animals. I got to feed one little monkey some plants and I believe I was just as nervous as he was to take it from me. Here I felt peace. Well Until Robert got the monkeys to howl. That was an experience I will never forget. All I could think was that the sound did not come from that little monkey. It sounded like a dinosaur or something from another world.
I left the wooded area in complete awe of the people there. They live with these monkeys every day. I can only imagine what it would be like to live here. As we walked back Robert pointed out the cashew fruit. showed us some pretty cool plants and then the rain came down. We were soaked within seconds. We grabbed some food from a group of people at a ball game and we started the second half of our journey. I left Bermudian Landing with a full heart and even more love for the country of Belize.
