For any lover of wildlife, or in my case particularly big cats, given half the chance who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to go exploring jungles, swamps, rain forests and the wonders they hold.
Terry McManus
My dream came true whilst working for Jaguar Cars Coventry. I was asked to create a painting of jaguar cats that could be reproduced and used to raise funds for the charity “The World Land Trust”, so off to Belize I went.
After spending a few days on my own at the Tropical Education Centre, I moved to the very friendly Belize zoo, with a view of trying to get as close to jaguars as possible, which thankfully I did.
One of the many highlights at the zoo was when a guide was trying to show me how to call crocodiles from the water to the bank, by making a strange croaking sound. We were just about to give up when I looked down and inches from my feet lay the crocodile. I timidly mentioned this to the guide, who instantly looked a little alarmed and said calmly and very slowly, “step backwards, no sudden movements”. I didn’t need to be told twice.
When at a safe distance to talk, I asked the question, “Is this not a little dangerous?”, to which he replied. “Only in the rainy season, when areas of the zoo are submerged in water, they swim around more and are a little harder to spot”. I guessed that was a joke, or at least I hoped so.
The remainder of my time in Belize I wanted to spend at The Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary. Which is also known as the Jaguar Preserve and situated near the Maya mountains, comprising of some 100,000 acres of tropical forest, jungles and swamps.
The basin has the most extensive trail network in Belize. Being home to a wide range of animals including, jaguar, puma, ocelot, armadillo, crocodile and tapir, not to mention the various species of birds, snakes, insects and flowers.
This is where I felt the most connected to the jungle, feeling the twigs and leaf litter squelch and crack underfoot, and at one point the realisation that I had been silently followed by a large cat that had left its foot prints on the same trail I had just walked, but only visible on my return down the same trail. Later that day being told by one of the guides that I had probably been followed by a large female puma or smaller jaguar that had been keeping an eye on me possibly due to having cubs around.
Often on my own I would walk the trails into dense foliage and hanging finger-like vines, not knowing what might jump, flutter or slither out.
I had been warned about various snakes such as the extremely poisonous Fer-de-lance, locally called the yellow-jaw tommygoff whose venom is particularly lethal and fast acting. But never did I expect to come across one happily sitting curled up on a log in the middle of a small rock pool shared by an oblivious tourist, using the beautiful clear water to cool down in.
Lots of my ideas for this trilogy, especially Rosa’s story, can almost be viewed as a diary of my visit, the friendly people and the caring keepers at the zoo, lonely walks through the undergrowth, swamps, jungles and forests. Meeting all the creatures that Rosa met except for the beautiful Quetzal bird, finding the silent hidden snake, coming face to face with the crocodile’s frozen smile. And the calling of the Howler monkeys dancing high above the treetops of the forest. Even Rosa’s meeting with Balam was inspired from walking up the steps of the Mayan temple at Xunantunich. Each step taken sent my mind spiralling backwards in time. Imagining the many who had gone before as human sacrifices, and the thoughts that must have gone through their minds as they reached the top, towards their Gods.
It was the impact that this beautiful, inspiring but at times scary place had on me, that influenced my personal growth and the birth of the ideas for this trilogy.
During my many hours in a wooden shack, with only the light from an oil lamp for company, devoid of all modern-day distractions, Leo-pard, Rosa, Rocky and Stripes silently crept into my thoughts and to this day have not left.
Terry McManus.
