Community Baboon Sanctuary is a protected area in

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...

. It was established in 1985 to help address the threats of agriculture, logging and hunting of the

black howler The black howler (''Alouatta caraya'') or black-and-gold howler, is among the largest New World monkeys and a member of the ''Alouatta'' genus. The black howler is distributed in areas of South America such as Paraguay, southern Brazil, eastern ...

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incom ...

('baboon') and to educate locals and visitors about the importance of

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity' ...

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

, and to promote the

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals a ...

of the

Bermudian Landing Bermudian Landing is a village in the nation of Belize, located near Scotland Halfmoon in Belize District. The name comes from the Bermuda grass planted by the early loggers to feed their oxen, who were used to drag the mahogany Mahog ...

community.

History

On 23 February 1985, the Community Baboon Sanctuary (CBS) was founded by Dr. Robert Horwich an American primatologist and Fallet Young, a landowner on the village of

. Originally created with twelve other landowners, as of 2013 there were over 200 properties involved. In 1998, the Women's Conservation Group was formed with women from the 7 villages in the Belize River Valle, directed by Jessy Young from 1998. In 2017 the group was awarded a United Nations

Equator Prize The Equator Prize, organized by the Equator Initiative within the United Nations Development Programme,

for their efforts in "improving local livelihoods while safeguarding vulnerable wildlife populations".

Location

Community Baboon Sanctuary is located 31 miles northwest of

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, w ...

on the Northern Highway. CBS includes 7 villages from the Belize River Valley: Big Falls/ St. Pauls Bank,

Willows Bank Willows Bank is a village in Belize District, Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, an ...

, Double Head Cabbage,

, Isabella Bank,

Scotland Halfmoon Scotland Halfmoon is a populated settlement located in the nation of Belize. It is a mainland village that is located in Belize District, between Burrell Boom and Bermudian Landing Bermudian Landing is a village in the nation of Belize, located n ...

and Flowers Bank village.

Goals

Community Baboon Sanctuary not only protects the

but, many other species of flora and fauna within the Belize River Valle region, with their main goals being to: conserve, educate, research and tourism. In 1992-1994, in a special project, several family groups of monkeys from CBS were reintroduced into the Cockscomb Basin of Belize to repopulate the area.

About howler monkeys

Howler monkeys are found only in the rainforests of the Americas ranging through eastern

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, southern

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, and northern Argentina. They are the largest monkey in Latin American rainforests growing as high as up to three feet tall when standing and weigh from eight to twenty-two pounds. They have big necks and lower jaws, where their super-sized vocal cords are housed. They live high in the trees and hang from branches by their tails who tend to move in troops of about 18 monkeys deep; spending most of their time sleeping and grooming each other. In order to mark their territory, the howlers make loud vocalizations. They are the loudest animal in the New World, with howls that can travel for three miles through dense forest.

References

{{authority control National parks of Belize Belize District Belize Rural North

History

Location

Goals

About howler monkeys

See also

References