The Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center has been recognized worldwide for its achievements in environmental education and its fascinating zoological facility and continues to play a leading national role in wildlife and habitat conservation. Started in 1983 by environmentalist Sharon Matola, TBZ was a last ditch effort to provide a home for a collection of 17 wild animals that had been used i
n making a documentary film about tropical forests. Rather than releasing the now "tame" animals into the wild for certain death or have them put to sleep, Matola turned their holding pens into a makeshift zoo. Later in 1991, through generous local and foreign support, the makeshift zoo was re-dedicated as The Belize Zoo, making it the first zoological facility in Belize. Today, The Belize Zoo has evolved to house over 175 native animals and receives more than 86,000 visitors annually. 13,000 of which are Belizean students, teachers and parents who visit on educational field trips. In 2014, TBZ became the first and only nature destination in Belize accessible to persons with physical disabilities; we are wheelchair, stroller, and walker friendly! The animals at the Zoo each have a unique story. All Zoo "residents" were once pets; donated to the Zoo; rescues found injured, abandoned or orphaned and brought in for rehabilitation; or born at the Zoo. The Belize Zoo receives no financial support from the Government of Belize, and generates funding to care for its residents through admission fees, giftshop and cafe sales, accommodations, tours, donations, grants, and adoption and membership programs.
