So what should you do if you someday cross paths with an animal in the wild? Poot says to simply observe and, if needed, contact the Forest Department.
Celso Poot, Executive Director, The Belize Zoo
"One of the biggest challenges we have at the zoo is someone brings in an orphan and they say oh we found it by itself and we brought it because it was in distress right. And a lot of times we try to discourage that because sometimes the parent is out hunting and they would come to feed, they would come back to look after the young, but if you pick it up and you displace it, one hour, two hours later we go back and try find the parent, it's not there anymore, it's looking for the young one and so the young one gets displaced. We have to take that and care for it so we usually encourage people, when you see a young around and it's calling, leave it a while, and if after a few hours you see that it hasn't gotten back with its parents then you report that to the Forest Department and have them decide whether you can remove it or not."
Courtney Menzies:
"If you're in these forests and reserves and you happen upon an animal like a jaguar, what do you do in that case so as to not put the animal in distress?"
Celso Poot:
"Savor the moment. If you have your camera take a photo, take a video from a distance. 25 feet, 50 feet, you have to be able to know your safe space with these animals. If you're in your vehicle, don't chase them, don't go behind them so you can get a video of them running from you. Stop, give them space to cross the highway, to cross the road or the trail if you're walking, then walk back from them, allow them to cross. You want that animal to continue its natural behavior."
