Better in Belize announces Meals for Monkeys/Trees for Toucans Reforestation Project!
Better in Belize EcoVillage announces exciting reforestation project “Meals for Monkeys. Trees for Toucans”. Using the moon cycle for planting, we’ll be planting tree seeds that produce food for Monkeys and Toucans. Some of the seeds we’ll be planting for Toucans, Scarlet Macaws, and other fine-feathered friends are:
- Che Chem Trees (Black Poisonwood);
- Copal Trees;
- Flamboyant Trees;
- Give & Take Trees;
- Mayflower Trees;
- Orange Trees;
- Palmetto Trees;
- Ramon Trees (Breadnut);
- Trumpet Trees;
- Wild Grape Trees;
- Yaxnic Trees.
These are all “high-tree” seeds.
Toucans won’t go to the ground due to predators and due to their heavy weight so they stay in the canopy. Scarlet macaws are opportunistic nesters that take over the cavities and holes dug by woodpeckers.
As for the Howler and Spider Monkeys, we’ll be planting:
- Bananas;
- Cow Foot Tree (they will eat the tree leaves and will come as low as the cowfoot which is between 12′ to 20′ above the ground);
- Guam Tree (they suck the water from the hollow limbs of the Guam trees to avoid ground predators, as do wild turkeys);
- Ramon (the howlers will invade and make a feast of the Ramon tree – they love the seeds);
- Trumpet Tree (they eat the leaves and the seeds);
- Yaxnic.
There are 5 or 6 groups of howler monkeys at Better in Belize. At times, troops of spider monkeys can be seen numbering up to 20 around The Toucan House. Their jumping prowess is something to behold – they can jump 20′ from branch to branch. They usually travel around the river and stay on top of the Rio On.
The cycle of life in our rainforest is changing drastically. We are seeing plants that would normally flower in March flowering 2 1/2 months before their normal bloom time e.g. the mayflower trees bloomed in mid-January whereas their normal bloom time is March.
Contact Us for more information.