Top Tips When Watching the Enigmatic Jaguar

One of our planet's most revered animals, the Jaguar is still shrouded in an aura of mystery for many. While afforded deity status by ancient cultures, and associated with raw power and prowess in our modern world, they have behavioural patterns and social structures like any other animal, and are an important conservation species. For those thinking of going on a Jaguar tour, a journey of discovery awaits. Learning more about these magnificent creatures can help you to understand their habits and relationship with their habitat, which in turn can help to enhance the experience of sightings. Read on for a guide to the animal's behaviour, and to glean some pointers about what to look for while on your Jaguar tour.

Hunting Habits

Jaguars are such successful hunters in part because of their powerful physiques and strong jaws, but also because they use almost every aspect of their habitat. 

The Importance of Jaguar Conservation

As many nature-lovers taking a Jaguar tour will be aware, the Jaguar is a 'near threatened' species, with the possibility of becoming 'threatened' in the future. Factors contributing to this status include hunting for its skin, shooting by farmers to protect livestock, and deforestation. With the Jaguar preferring large territories - up to 40 square kilometres for females and up to twice as much for males - the loss or fragmentation of its habitat has a serious impact. Not only are individual animals affected by reduced habitat and hunting ground, but the population suffers from loss of connection between individual animal's ranges, reducing the breeding pool. Despite the problems it faces, the animal is a protected species in several countries, and sustained efforts are being made across the Americas in protecting habitat, re-connecting ranges and educating ranchers.

Why Protect the Jaguar? For the Planet...

Red-Eyed Tree Frog: Amphibian or Reptile?

Some people mistakenly believe that reptiles and amphibians are one and the same or they simply do not know how to tell the difference. Amphibians are born as soft eggs in water and then hatch into tadpoles. Living out the start of their life in the water they then grow legs, lose their tails, and become frogs.

On the other hand reptiles are born as shelled eggs laid on land and hatch as a smaller version of what they will eventually become at maturity. Reptiles never morph into a new form as do amphibians. There is another way of telling the difference between an amphibian and a reptile: reptiles are capable of living in dry areas whereas amphibians cannot.

Belize has many tree dwellers with the Red-Eyed Tree Frog being unique and definitely the most interesting. This beautiful green frog has extremely large bright red eyes, hence its' name. Agalychnis callidryas is the scientific name for this fascinating little creature. 

Belize: The Magnificent Booby Birds

The Red-Footed Booby is a species within the Pelican family that lives in tropical coastal areas. This Booby Bird is also found on tropical islands in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans, excluding Africa's Atlantic side.

In Belize the Booby is most often found out on the Cayes, most notably Half Moon Caye, part of which, in 1928, was gazetted as a Crown Reserve Bird Sanctuary under the Crown Land Ordinance. The Crown Sanctuary Reserve was specifically dedicated to protecting the Red-Footed Booby Bird. The Crown Reserve was the first and still is the oldest area designated for the protection of wildlife in Belize.

Half Moon Caye is currently home to a colony of about 4,000 plus birds including the Booby Bird. Boobies like to nest in very large colonies among the orange-flowered Ziricote thicket. At the western end of Half Moon Caye one has a spectacular view of the Boobies from an observation deck.

Bird Watching in Treasure Island Florida

Treasure Island, Florida is a wonderful place to observe some of the most magnificent wildlife in the country. Bird watching or birding is a very popular attraction to many people because of the variety of species that call these shores home. Actually, the area can serve as a good place to observe birds that may not be indigenous to the area. Many birds' migration patterns run through this region. There are some lovely shorebirds that can be spotted along this stretch of coast and it is recommended that every birder take some time to enjoy these species.

There is also a collective effort in the community to make sure these birds last for future generations, so always make sure to be careful and never disturb these creatures' natural habitats. Many of Florida's species are on the brink of peril and people should always make sure to enjoy the wildlife, while making sure to preserve the natural order.

Are Whales at Threat of Extinction?

It is common knowledge that rampant overfishing (whaling) in the 18th - 20th centuries nearly drove many whale species to extinction. While whaling certainly existed prior to this, technological improvements allowed the industry to become much more efficient in harvesting whales. Now that the global whaling industry has nearly disappeared, whale populations have been able to slowly recover. Conservation efforts and eco-tourism (centered around whale watching cruises or dolphin interaction tours) are working to fund recovery efforts, but is it too late?

The majority of the great whale species are still on the endangered species list. The United States Endangered Species Act (ESA) still lists the northern right, southern right, bowhead, fin, blue, sei, humpback, and sperm whales as endangered species. The population of the northern right is reported to be less than one thousand animals remaining. One big problem is that, even without a major impact from commercial whaling, many interactions between humans and whales mean further losses in the population.