Before the end of the course we had one last day at the Zoo, where we performed necropsies and worked on enrichment projects. We performed necropsies on a Laughing Falcon, Porcupine, Pelican, Ocelot and an Agouti. These necropsies helped the students learn the differences between different animals and their internal anatomical structure, observe body condition, and analyze cause of death.
Then after the necropsies, we worked on our enrichment projects for the animal we selected, which for me was the Kinkajou. Enrichment in Zoos is used to encourage natural habits that the animals have in the wild and to keep them from getting bored. For the Kinkajou we put holes in a large piece of bamboo, to place some of his favorite fruits ( The Kinkajou “Fuzzy”, really likes bananas), this was to encourage climbing and searching for his food. After we had a suture lab at the Tropical Education Center where we learned the simple continuous and simple interrupted suture.
On our last day of the course each person presented on a wildlife topic of our choice and
had an exam. I presented on the termites of Belize because I think that it is interesting that they are able to sustain aerial colonies. We also looked at our camera trap footage from the past week, and we caught a coatimundi, grey fox and a jaguar on camera!
The ending of this course is bittersweet, I am super glad to have had this experience and make some great friends along the way. I learned so much while I was in Belize, and I won’t ever
forget this amazing adventure. Thank you guys for reading my posts, I hope you have enjoyed learning a little bit about Belize and its wildlife with me.
I feel so educated about Belize, now that you shared your experiences with us. The more informed and educated we become better stewards of the earth. Needless to say I am proud of my grandson Andrew Morace.