We get asked all the time about what kind of animals we have seen down here. I’ve already posted pictures of some of the birds, lizards, and colorful insects we have around here, so this time I will tell you about the other animals we have seen on the property. Birds are easy to get a picture of, but the animals on the ground will take off as soon as they see you. So most of these pictures are pulled from the web as we don’t always have a camera ready when we do see something.  Anyway, these are the animals we’ve seen on the property so far, we have seen other animals in our travels around Belize, but these are there ones around the house.

Margay Cat

The Margay is a small cat that rarely gets bigger than about 8 lbs. It’s a nocturnal hunter that spends most of its life in the treetops. A Margay’s ankles can rotate 180 degrees allowing him to climb down a tree headfirst.

Tayra or Bush Dog

The Tayra is a member of the weasel family and can get up to 48″ long including its tail. They do most of their hunting by scent since they have relatively poor eyesight.

Nine-Banded Armadillo

This armadillo is one of the largest species weighing up to 22 lbs. Unlike other armadillos, this one can not roll itself up into a ball. However, it is capable of floating across rivers by inflating its intestines, or by sinking and running across riverbeds. It is possible to sink and run across the bottom due to the fact that it can hold its breath for up to 6 minutes.

Paca, Gibnut, or Royal Rat

The Paca is the sixth-largest rodent in the world, weighing up to 30 lbs and reaching a length of 30″. They are great swimmers and when threatened will dive and can stay submerged for up to 15 minutes. They can also jump up to 3′ in the air and when threatened will freeze for up to 45 minutes. These are very common animals around here.

Tamandua Collared Anteater

The Collared Anteater will get up to about 60″ long and a weight of around 18 lbs. They eat mostly ants and termites, scooping them up with their amazing 18″ tongue.

White-Nosed Coati

Coatis are omnivores and will reach a weight of 18 lbs. Coatis also have ankles that can rotate 180 degrees allowing them to walk down a tree headfirst. Their long snout-like nose can rotate up to 60 degrees in any direction to aid in their search for food. We have seen a lot of Coatis around the property, and as many as 15 at a time.

Jaguarundi

The Jaguarundi is a medium-sized cat, getting up to around 15 lbs. Unlike other cats, the Jaguarundi is mainly active during the day. We have seen brown ones and a black one with 3 kittens walking behind her.

 Gray Fox

We have seen a few of the gray foxes in our driveway from time to time. And unlike other canines, the Gray Fox can climb trees.

Opossum

Opossums are marsupials, meaning they have a pouch like a kangaroo. When threatened or harmed they will “play dead”. When playing dead their lips are drawn back, the teeth are bared, saliva foams around the mouth, the eyes are half-closed and a foul-smelling fluid is secreted from the anal gland. There are quite a few possums around here, we usually see them at night eating the fruit we put out for the birds.

Agouti

The Agouti is a rodent that is related to the Guinea Pig. Agoutis can grow up to 24″ in length and weigh up to 9 lbs. They are renowned for being very fast runners, able to keep hunting dogs occupied with chasing them for hours.

Yucatan Squirrel

Squirrels are constantly running around the yard and jumping from tree to tree and gathering cohune nuts.

Kinkajou

Kinkajous or Honey Bear is not closely related to any other tree-dwelling mammal group. They are seldom seen by people because of their nocturnal habits. When the fruits are ripe in the trees above our house we have seen four at a time up there feeding.

These are just the animals that we have personally seen on our property, we know there are a lot more out there that we just haven’t seen yet. We have neighbors who have seen Jaguars, Deer, Peccaries, and Monkeys all around this area. Most of these animals are very active at night and that’s when we should be out looking for them. It’s just that neither one of us has got the guts to take a walk in the dark, dense jungle in the middle of the night.