Ecorana Environmental ltd., Blog at it's partner field staiton at the T.R.E.E.S

We are Ecorana Environmental, an eco-travel and environmental education company that specializes in creating and planning applied learning holidays for students, researchers, and ecotourists alike. Our team consists of travel and outreach specialists as well as research biologists and teachers who specialize in environmental education and conservation. We are well-versed in providing comfortable, safe, and exciting learning and travel opportunities to a range of clientele interested in environmentally and culturally conscious travel.Ecorana is poised to offer travel and education abroad opportunities in the diverse tropical country of Belize. Ecorana employs biologists who are well-trained in tropical ecology, herpetology, and ornithology, and as such, studies in tropical biology are the primary focus of our educational holidays. However, our team’s diverse interests and expertise allow us to plan all types of holidays ranging from wildlife ecotours to yoga retreats to West African drumming courses to ecological field technique courses. Wherever your interests lie, you can be guaranteed that Ecorana will be right there with you.Ecorana maintains values of environmental and cultural conservation and stewardship, hands-on education, and inclusive learning, and seeks to instill those values in all visitors to Belize. We work with many field stations and educational centers, scientists, educators, tour companies, tour guides, eco-lodges, and parks, both on the mainland and on the islands of Belize, to make sure you go exactly where you want to go and see exactly what you want to see and more!

One of our main partners is the Toucan Ridge Ecology and Education Society (T.R.E.E.S) and their field station in Belize. The objectives of this environmental education center are to host various cultural and environmental based student courses, workshops and event hosting in the heart of the beautiful Maya Mountains of Belize. We plan on providing our services to international students as well as providing opportunities for Belizean students.

For more information see our website at www.ecorana.ca, or send us and email at info@ecorana.ca or to go directly to the T.R.E.E.S website www.treesociety.org

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Scary Scary Times......

So, after only a few short weeks of living in the jungle, we have already had our first major scare. To start, we need you all to know that we got some really cute puppies (Apparently we are more cat people since so far we have only talked about the beloved cats! This one is for you dog people!). The puppies are sisters, and they are half rotweiler/half wolf (yes, that's right, apparently some crazy Canadian shipped a pet wolf into Belize a while back). We hope that one day they will grow up to be really good guard dogs. But for now they are just sweet little puppies.

Last weekend, I awoke in the middle of the night in sheer panic because I heard the terrifying sound of one of our puppies being attacked (they sleep on the porch at night but we leave the door open so they can go outside to use the bathroom). I was certain, in my half-asleep state, that they, or at least one, was being dragged away by a jaguar. I flew out of bed, and the only thing I could think to do was to start screaming bloody murder, in hopes that I would scare the thing away before it killed the dog. So I ran through the house screaming, and started banging my fists on the door to the porch. I had no glasses on, and everything was dark, and I was so scared to open the door and see my dead puppy. Now, poor Mathieu, was experiencing a completely different fear. He had not heard the dog squealing, and only heard me. He awoke in sheer panic thinking we were under house invasion, and thought he saw a person towering over the bed (which was just me flying out of the bed), and then thought another person was banging on the door to get in (again, me banging to scare the jaguar). I kept screaming "something has taken the dog" and he kept hearing "someone has taken the dog". He started running around the house brandishing his machete, also yelling, I started cyring, he finally understood what I was freaking out about, so we both ran onto the porch to check out the dogs. Littel sweet Eva was cowering under the table, and dear Duka was gone. I was sure she was dead, and I didn't want to go look at her, so Mat went to search the scene. I was consoling Eva, and trying to console myself, when Mat came back with Duka in his arms, alive and well!!

It was all very strange, we could not figure out what had happened, because she had no scratches on her or anything, but she was terrified. The dogs across the road had not been barking until we woke up screaming, so it seemed impossible that it could have been a person in the yard trying to steal her since they are always on high alert (although, dog-napping apparently is a common money-making scheme!) We remained confused for days, and worried that it had actually been a person, but we talked to one of the caretakers from down the road, who said that it definitely sounded like a jaguar, and that often the young ones have under-developed canines and not very skilled at hunting yet, so instead of killing them in one bite to the head like the big ones do, they just try to drag it away. And I think our insane racket must have scared off the jaguar so he (or she) could not finish her job! Thank goodness. Despite not being the biggest dog lovers in the world, I think both Mat and I have come to love those little (soon to be big) girls.

So, we gave each other the scare of our lives. And although it is really scary knowing that a jaguar is preying on our pets, it is also really cool! We're in the jungle now!

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