A Tribute to Sharon Matola – the Founder of the Belize Zoo
Sharon Matola
Over the weekend, Belizeans got the sad news of the passing of Belize Zoo founder and animal ambassador extraordinaire Sharon Matola. Over the years, her name became synonymous with this space for education and conservation. Her passion motivated and inspired an entire generation of environmentalists who remembered going to the zoo as children and wanted to devote their lives, as she had, to protecting Belize’s wildlife. While News Five joins the chorus of those mourning her passing, we do hope viewers will enjoy seeing where it all began.
Sharon Matola, Founding Director, The Belize Zoo
“People who hunt baby monkeys to use them for pets, they shoot the mother to steal the baby and then somebody comes along and buys the baby so that is not a very good thing to do, isn’t it? No it’s not.”
Andrea Polanco, Reporting
That’s Sharon Matola – more than thirty years ago. She is the founding director of the Belize Zoo – a feat she singlehandedly accomplished way back in the eighties. She first came to Belize to work on a film project as a caretaker for the animals – and when that was over the animals had no one to care for them – and that’s when Matola stepped in and her work blossomed into the best little zoo in the world. And ever since then she has championed a movement of conservation and preservation of Belize’s natural heritage and did it right up to her untimely passing. Her best friend Lou Nicolait fondly recalls how much that meant to Matola.
Lou Nicolait
On the Phone: Lou Nicolait, Best Friend of Sharon Matola
“I think it was her whole life – even as a friend to her conservation was more important. The animals, conservation, education – little people – the students were important to Sharon. She understood very well that you can only ensure a conservation ethic if you have education for youngsters.”
And Matola’s idea of a zoo was different. She didn’t want animals to be unhappy and locked up – all her animals at the zoo are all rehabilitated animals that wouldn’t be able to survive in the wild if released. She curated the zoo in such a way that the animals are still in their natural habitat. She created many books – telling stories of the raptors, tapirs and other species – building that awareness and love for our animals in our Belizean children. Matola was always known for throwing the best birthday parties – like the April the Tapir bash every year – it was highlight for students or when she hosted dignitaries like Princess Ann back in 2001. And while the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center remain her single largest contribution to the country and people of Belize – her impact and her legacy are immeasurable.
Colin Young
Dr. Colin Young
“Sharon was a trail blazer. She was persistent. She was smart. She had a certain charisma that was so captivating and obviously her contribution was that she brought animals into the homes and into the classrooms of Belizeans. Sharon brought these stories to life and she did it by allowing kids to go to the zoo and having an experience like no other. I think there are generations and generations of children, adults and children alike, whose whole outlook about the animals of Belize was shaped entirely by Sharon.”
Elma Kay
Dr. Elma Kay
“She is a conservation hero for this nation. We inherited the best little zoo in the world and I don’t think that there is a bigger legacy than that. The zoo is the place that has welcomed probably all of us as children, given us the first introduction to our wild animals. It is so special and such a special vision that always stuck to understanding our own natural heritage and what is our biodiversity. I think that vision is simply amazing. It was never an ordinary zoo and so without a doubt, hands down that legacy will live on.”
Dr. Omar Figueroa
“Sharon’s passing signals the end of an era for Belize. She is perhaps the last of what I would consider those old school conservation warriors – last certainly for Belize, perhaps for the region. While she is known mostly for her work with the Belize Zoo, Sharon’s work was transformational in much more than just the Belize Zoo. Her work touched on the three main pillars of conservation biology – she worked in research, she worked in education and she worked in and she really transformed those three fields. She had a tremendous impact across this entire country. I think today Belize is better off because of the work the work that Sharon did.”
Sharon, through her work at the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center – was the loudest voice for the problem jaguars. She rehabilitated more than twenty jaguars over the years – and used their stories to spread awareness. In one of our last interviews with Matola – she advocated for these problem jaguars.
Sharon Matola [File: April 2019]
“We are proud of our programme because we know if it is a problem jaguar it has a problem and she certainly did. She is missing a canine tooth and she is missing bottom teeth and she had intestinal issues. She is grunt – she looks young but she isn’t so young. Her making it in the wild and hunting just was not on her menu. And as you can see, how close can you get to a jaguar like this that actually has learned to like people.”
While her presence will be missed – her impact will continue to be felt in countless areas of conservation. Matola is also credited for the many careers she shaped and persons she inspired who are the torch bearers of conservation work in present day Belize.
Dr. Elma Kay
“I have known Sharon for almost twenty-twenty-five years. She actually is somebody who first introduced me to the world of conservation and she did that for many of the conservation professionals in Belize. So, I think today many people are mourning that loss not just professionally but personally as well.”
Omar Figueroa
Dr. Omar Figueroa
“I first met Sharon over twenty-five years ago and actually Sharon was the first person who hired me for my first job in the field of conservation biology and ever since then I have stayed in contact with Sharon. We stayed in contact and worked on numerous projects and numerous initiatives. So, Sharon has had a tremendous impact on my career, on my work in conservation biology.”
Dr. Colin Young
“I don’t think there is another person like Sharon Matola. She is one of those persons who come around once in lifetime. I was fortunate to have known Sharon since I was six years old. She used to come to the zoo to pick me up from Bermudian Landing to meet April the Tapir. So, in many ways she contributed to my development and love for wildlife and for conservation.”
Dr. Colin Young sums up best – the force that was and will live on as Sharon Matola. From championing environmental issues – as staunch opponent to the Chalillo dam – to an advocate for wild animals – to naming the highest point in Belize.
Dr. Colin Young
“Sharon is as Belize as the Belize Zoo. While she wasn’t born here, she loved this country. She loved its people. She loved its animals and she was willing to do all she can to protect them even when it made her very unpopular or when she crossed a lot of people; whether it was her objection to the Chalillo Dam when it was being built and the issues of trying to save the scarlet macaws and the habitat or whether it is taking any other environmental issue. I think that fighting spirit is one of the defining characteristics of Sharon. I don’t know how many people know that Sharon is responsible for naming our highest point in Belize – the Doyle’s Delight – which is taller than Victoria Peak and she named it in 1989 based on the lost world and so it is fitting that this giant of a woman, this giant of a human being was responsible for naming our highest point in this country and I think that ought to symbolize in more ways than one how towering a figure she was in Belize.”
Reporting for News Five, I’m Andrea Polanco.
