The most exciting thing about Wildtracks is that, even with a routine schedule, you truly never know what to expect. Things change so often and quickly that it can be rather insane to keep up with. I had the thrill this week of waking up to my first scorpion sting, after I tried to brush something off my leg in my sleep (very common here) and received a nice sting to the top of my finger. Not considered an emergency (unless an allergic reaction occurs) and often compared to a severe bee sting, it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The worst part was waking up from deep sleep to such a horrible feeling. The next morning it felt tender and stiff, but I can't feel it all at today... only a day since it happened. Just another unique experience here in Belize!

Aggy, a volunteer that came soon after we started, finished her month volunteering here at Wildtracks last week. We all went out to the village, Sarteneja, to eat out at Pablito's (our favorite local restaurant) and visit the local Fun Fair to give her a proper send off. The Fun Fair is a fair like we are familiar with in the states, with rides, games, drinking, and snacks. Volunteer Ashley and I played a marble game and won a plush dog and then ate some popcorn while the rest of the group went on a spinning ride from hell. At least two threw up afterwards, and Todd, Ashley, and I were very glad we had opted out of the rusty, spinning ride adventure... haha! The food at Pablito's was amazing as always.. I am really hooked on the Lion Fish Fillets! If you ever have a chance to try Lion Fish, they are an invasive species that are harming delicate coral reef ecosystems and they taste delicious - you should definitely give them a try! After food and fun, we then piled in the back of a pickup truck for a ride home ($3 BZ, or $1.50 US each) and held on tight in fear of falling out and being left behind. Village nights are a blast! (A side note for the drinkers - there are no open container laws here, you can walk down the street with a bottle of rum ($6.50 BZ, $3.25 US) with no risk of consequences!)

Rameses is staying in the lagoon from now on as long as his amazing progress continues. He is continuing to eat a remarkable 5-8 lbs of sea grass per feeding, sometimes more, with a side of water hyacinths and bottles of formula. The more attention he gets the more he wants, but I am thrilled to say he'd much rather take chunks of sea grass from his feeding frame (also known as an Environmental Enrichment Device, or EED), than from human hands. This manatee is on his way to pre-release!

Duke is still struggling with eating consistently, although his behavior is healthy and he seems happy. With a full crew of volunteers here right now, he is getting lots of company during "In's", that require a volunteer to sit with and swim laps with him for about 30 minutes at a time periodically throughout the day. This is very important because he is still in a concrete pool without another manatee for company. We don't want him to become bored or depressed, and until he is eating well enough to ween off his every-other-day tube feedings, we can not put him in the lagoon with Rameses. I've really been bonding with Duke... and don't tell the others, but he is rapidly becoming my favorite personality here! Along with all the other amazing volunteers, Todd and I are thinking hard to come up with new ideas to increase his interest in what should be every manatee's favorite thing to do - eat!

One of my favorite things to do is talk to visitors about the manatees. Paul and Zoe have been kind enough to let me be the one to give tours to specific groups and individuals that want to see what Wildtracks is all about, and because the monkey areas are off limits to most, this mostly means they get to see the main facility, rehabilitation area, lagoon, and manatee pools. I talk about how the rehabilitation at Wildtacks came to be, give a modest back ground of Paul and Zoe's experiences and qualifications, and an in-depth description of the manatees and their progress. I'm always looking forward to the next opportunity to talk about manatees!

The monkey side, which isn't one I visit too often, has also had lots of exciting things happening. A few volunteer changes gave me a couple days to work with the quarantine monkeys, Rafiki and Beth. I'm trained as a second backup to take care of them in the rare case that the primary caretakers aren't available. This involves cleaning up in and/or around the cages, then feeding the quarantine monkey's leafy branches (browse), bowls of fruit such as banana, papaya, melon, apple, etc., and sometimes formula from a drinking syringe. Rafiki, a male Spider monkey, is a rescue from the pet trade that arrived less than a month ago, and he is such a sweetheart. He has been named after the character from The Lion King, because he is calm, wise, and has a bend in his back due to the conditions he encountered before he came to Wildtracks. It is hopeful that he can still be released back into the wild, but because of the severe circumstances it is hard to say for sure. Beth, a female Howler monkey, is also a rescue from the pet trade, which is usually done by the Forestry Department of Belize, and she is a sad case. Although she is getting much healthier, she is still shy and reclusive because of her extreme distrust and there are still marks all over her body from ties and chains that were too tight. The directors of Wildtracks, Paul and Zoe, just brought in another rescued male Spider monkey that has been named Charlie, and there are another two coming in early next week. The new quarantines will be taken care of and observed by Paul for some time to assess their condition, personalities, and needs before any volunteers are appointed to care for them.

The illegal pet trade of would-be wild animals is nasty, horrible, and abusive. Please, no matter how appealing it may be to have a pet monkey or big cat, the life you can give them just isn't the same as the freedom they have in the wild - don't do it!

Thank you again for reading! I will be posting some new photo albums very shortly - so come back again soon!