Tour guides trained for Swallow Caye Wildlife Sanctuary

It may be a unique and fascinating part of Belize’s natural heritage, but without proper management the Swallow Caye Wildlife Sanctuary would not be in business very long. Today the protected area east of Belize City received a major boost as fifty tour guides completed a specialized course in dealing with the park’s plentiful population of manatees.

Lionel Heredia, President, Friends of Swallow Caye
“It’s a chaos to see the public to make that money, they don’t care about the animals, they just believe in making money. But today it opens my eyes and it opens my heart to see so many students dedicating themselves and learn more. I never had that opportunity and it feels so good that they stand up and gone through what is the proper training. And I hope they don’t just get it into them and don’t do something. Do something, use the knowledge that they get today because I never had that.”

The training was made possible through the Belize Tourism Board and U.N.D.P’s Global Environment Fund and Small Grants Programme. Friends of Swallow Caye is the co-management agency for the Swallow Caye Wildlife Sanctuary.