The Community Baboon Sanctuary, Belize

The sanctuary (tel. 501/220-2181, baboon@btl.net) is the result of the unique efforts of 220 members in nine local communities who have voluntarily agreed to manage their land in ways that will preserve their beloved baboon (the local term for the black howler monkey). Because of community-based efforts to preserve the creature, there are now 4,000 individuals waiting to be spotted and photographed by curious travelers. CBS feels remote, but in reality, it is only 26 miles from Belize City and 13 miles from the international airport, making it both a popular day trip and a common destination for tent-schlepping backpackers who’d rather wake up to the throaty roars of the Belizean baboon than the smelly bustle of Belize City.

History
One of the six species of howler monkeys in the world, the black howlers are the largest monkeys in the Americas. Zoologist Robert Horwich from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee was the first zoologist to spend extended time in the howler’s range, which covered southern Mexico, northeast Guatemala, and Belize.

The results of his study were disturbing. In Mexico, the monkeys were being hunted by the locals for food, and their habitat was fast being eliminated with the destruction of the rainforest. Conditions in Guatemala were only slightly better. Here, too, the monkeys were hunted by locals in the forests around Tikal, and as the forest habitat shrank in the country, so too did the numbers of howler monkeys.

In Belize, however, in the village of Bermudian Landing, the communities of monkeys were strong and healthy, the forest was intact, and the locals seemed genuinely fond of the noisy creatures. This was definitely the place to start talking wildlife reserve.

Horwich, with the help of Jon Lyon, a botanist from the State University of New York, began a survey of the village in 1984. After many meetings with the town leaders, excitement grew about the idea of saving the “baboon.” Homeowners agreed to leave the monkey’s food trees—hogplums and sapodillas—and small strips of forest between cleared fields as aerial pathways for the primates, as well as 60 feet of forest along both sides of waterways.

An application was made to World Wildlife Fund USA in 1985 for funds to set up the reserve. Local landowners signed a voluntary management agreement set forth by Horwich and Lyon—and a sanctuary was born. At last count, the number of participants had grown to 220 landowners in nine villages covering 18 square miles along a 20-mile stretch of the Belize River.

Continuing Results
According to sanctuary manager Fallett Young, the monkey population has grown to a whopping 4,000. There have been successful attempts to relocate some of the troops around the country, especially to southern areas like the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary, where howlers haven’t been heard since they were decimated by yellow fever decades ago.

One of the outgrowths of this innovative plan in Belize is the knowledge that educating people about conservation and arousing in them a basic fondness for all of nature has been much more successful than enacting a stringent hunting law. The managers of the sanctuary are local villagers who understand their neighbors; much of their time is spent with schoolchildren and adults in interested villages. Part of their education includes basic farming techniques and sustained land use that eliminates the constant need to cut forest for new milpas (cornfields); this might be the most important lesson for the forest inhabitants.

Another result is the unhindered growth of 100 species of trees, vines, and epiphytes. The animal life is thriving as well—anteaters, armadillos, iguanas, hicatee turtles, deer, coati, amphibians, reptiles, and about 200 species of birds all live here.

However, all is not perfect in this baboon paradise. Occasionally, people from urban areas still come to the sanctuary to kidnap baby monkeys to sell for pets. The only way anyone can kidnap a baby howler is by killing the mother, since she will never relinquish her young without a fight. A lively debate continues among traditional conservationists about allowing people to live within a wildlife preserve. However, Belize’s grassroots conservation is proving that it can succeed. Other countries such as Australia and Sierra Leone are watching carefully to see how this same concept can be adapted to the needs of their own endangered species without disturbing the people who have lived on the land for many generations.

Activities
There are enough trails, rivers, and guided tours to keep you busy here for a couple of days. It’s always a thrill to watch the bright-eyed black monkey as it sits within five feet of you on a wild-lime tree branch, happily munching the leaves. They seem to know they’re protected here.

All activities are arranged through the CBS Visitor Center in Bermuda Landing (group trips and/or guides from local hotels are also available). The most basic is the 45-minute nature walk that is included with your US$5 entrance fee to the Natural History Museum. You are 100 percent guaranteed to see wild monkeys, as there is a troop of seven that lives in a tree right across the road.

There is also a three-hour canoe tour and a two-hour walking tour of some of the different sanctuary villages. Overnighters should absolutely take advantage of the nighttime trips, including a 3.5-hour crocodile canoe trip up Mussell Creek or a two-hour night hike into the surrounding forest.

Be aware that the trails are on private land, and visitors should not infringe on private property. A trail is maintained and it’s required that all visitors have a guide for orientation. The trails are marked with numbered signs that correspond with information provided in a book, Community Baboon Sanctuary, which is available in most gift shops or at the sanctuary.

Getting There and Away
Bermuda Landing is only 26 miles from Belize City; the bus ride takes about an hour. Four early-morning buses leave Bermuda Landing from 5 a.m. to 6:45 a.m., and depart Belize City at noon, 4 p.m., 5 p.m., and 5:15 p.m. Catch the bus two blocks east of the main Novelo’s Terminal at the corner of Euphrates and Amara Avenues. There are no buses in either direction on Sundays.

The sanctuary is close enough to the city or either airport that you can consider a taxi or an escorted tour for a day trip. Negotiate taxi prices ahead of time.

Spanish Creek Wildlife Sanctuary
Located seven miles farther up the road, this is a brand new protected area, rich in wildlife, but short on infrastructure so far. Ask at Bermuda Landing for more details.