As a result of Belize’s small population and lack of industry, most of its diverse forms of wildlife have prospered; its forests provide a cornucopia of engaging species.

As I traveled through the wide range of natural environments in this Caribbean country, from mountains to swamps to lagoons, I was amazed by the lack of human encroachment or destruction of habitats.

Thanks to a lack of tourism or hunting in these unspoiled, natural surroundings, the birds and mammals were more easily found. And although I had been led to believe that they were elusive and hard to locate, I experienced many exciting moments as I came across yet another species of wild animal.

And at every turn the drama was intensified by the unspoiled, almost primordial forests.