The Mammals of Belize

Mammals of Tropical zone areas such as Belize eat lots of fruit and are mostly nocturnal. Because they are nocturnal and spend lots of time high up in the trees rather than on ground level, visitors to Belize won't spot many mammals on vacation. Tropical forests have high, dense canopies, which allow for only a little bit of sun to filter down to the ground level. That means the tropical forest floor is relatively sparse, so there is no reason for mammals to spend lots of time on the ground because there's not much food there. They eat fruit and come out at night: two main reasons you won't see many of them. Arboreal animals, or animals who spend time in trees, like monkeys and racoons, are plentiful in the tropical rainforests of Belize. What you will find is bats. Lots of them. Tropical bats eat fruit and nectar among other things, and of course we all know they hang around in trees. The tropics are perfect for them. There are about 70 species of bats in Belize! Compare this with the 40 species found in all of North America and you get the picture! Here are some of the Bat species found in Belize:

• Hairy-legged Bat, Myotis Keaysi
• Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat, Artibeus jamaicensis
• Black Mastiff Bat, Molussus ater
• Fishing Bat, Noctilio leporinus
• Woolly False Vampire Bat, Chrotopterus auritus
• Sucker-footed Bat, Thyroptera tricolor

How to find Mammals in the Wild in Belize

You really have to be patient and crafty to spot mammals in the wild in Belize. You can go for weeks at a time and if you're unlucky, never see many mammals at all! Walking trails in a quiet and slow manner may bring you some luck, if a porcupine or tapir happens to cross your path or stick its head out of the brush near you. You may catch a glimpse of a small anteater, or Tamandua, a slow-moving, clumsy animal of the forest. He might hardly notice you, too. Check out spots near watering holes or streams and hope a mammal comes to take a drink. Alternatively, you could try taking a walk through the woods as early as you can make it in the morning. Since mammals are nocturnal, they'll be on their way home in the wee hours of the morning, and you might see them heading back. Another, albeit unfortunate spot to look is near campgrounds and field stations, or other remote outposts where humans spend time, and where mammals might approach to look for garbage to eat. Wait for darkness and get a flashlight, and shine it into the forest. Look for glowing eyes!

The one animal you can almost bet you'll see lots of is monkeys. If you go to the Community Baboon Sanctuary, you'll see them of course. Other parks to check out for mammals sightings are Tikal National Park and Lamanai Archeological Park. You're sure to see a coati, which is like a big racoon, at any National Park. They, like racoons, like to stake out garbage cans and raid them periodically. They are opportunists, and there are lots of opportunities at parks!

The Species in Belize

There are all kinds of exotic-looking animals in Belize, if you come from a temperate zone such as North America or Europe. Even the commonly-found coati is strange and exotic looking to visitors. Some animals we may recognize as appearing very similar to creatures we find in temperate zones. For example, the Virginia Opossum will seem very familiar to lots of people. But Belize also has other species of opossum, the Central American Woolly Opossum, Caluromys derbianus and the Water Opoosum, Chironectes minimus along with the Gray Four-eyed Opossum, philander opossum.

Here are two Primate species found in Belize:

• Yucatan Black Howler Monkey, Alouatta pigra
• Central American Spider Monkey, Ateles geoffroyi

That leaves us with Armadillos & Anteaters, Rodents, Carnivores, Deer, and Tapirs, and Manatees & Dolphins. Did you know that Belize is thought to have the world's largest population of manatees? The Armadillos & Anteaters group also contains the sloths, and although all three animals are quite different-looking, they are genetically very similar. Anteaters and sloths are found only in the tropical and semi-tropical forests of Central and South America, and are therefore somewhat symbolic of the tropics, as are parrots and toucans. Here are some of the species found in Belize:

• None-banded Armadillo, Dasypus novemcinctus
• SilkyAnteater, Cyclopes didactylus
• Northern Tamandua, Tamandua mexicana

Carnivores found in Belize are hard to find, hard to spot, and exist relatively infrequently. The bigger and more exptoc species include:

• Gray Fox, Urocyon cinereoargenteus
• Jaguarundi, Herpailurus yaguarondi
• Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis
• Margay, Leopardus pardalis
• Ocelot, Leopardus wiedii
• Jaguar, Panthera onca
• Puma, Puma concolor