Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
hieroglyphs was unearthed when an anthropologist working at the site followed
a looter's trench into a small chamber.
Marcello A. Canuto, of Yale University, made the amazing discovery, which
matches the Site Q pieces geologically. The translated text of the La Corona
glyph panel, meanwhile, is consistent with the writings on the other Site Q
pieces.
Although archaeologists are satisfied with finally putting to rest one of the
longest-running searches for a lost Mayan city, they still have some unanswered
questions. Among the Site Q glyph panels in private collections is one known as
the“Dallaspanel,”whicharchaeologists believewascutfromathroneroom.No
such room has yet been found at La Corona.
Among Petén's most beautiful creatures are the brightly colored scarlet macaws
that once roamed freely throughout Petén. You'll probably run into these large
parrots throughout your travels in Guatemala; they are popular pets in hotel
courtyardsonaccountoftheircolorfulred,blue,andyellowplumage—including
two beautiful red tail feathers—in addition to their boisterous squawking and
ability to mimic human speech. Unfortunately, their populations have been
decimated by habitat loss and wildlife poaching for the international pet trade.
Still, there remain pockets where macaws continue to nest, and local scientists
have taken it upon themselves to help protect what's left of Guatemala's dwind-
ling numbers of these exotic birds.
In the dense forests that still surround the site of Waka'-Perú, biologists from
several agencies working in Petén, including ProPetén (
www.propeten.org
)
and
Wildlife Conservation Society (
www.wcs.org
)
, have established protected nest-
ing grounds. There are 21 nests in hollow forest trees and additional “artifi-
cial” nests arebeingcreated. Thelatter involve creating hollowed-out tree trunks
which are then placed high in the treetops. Biologists report success with this
new method. Like most parrots, scarlet macaws lay 2-4 white eggs in a tree cav-
ity, with their young hatching after about 25 days. They fly about 105 days later
and leave their parents as late as one year.
ThenestsatWaka'-Perúenjoyyear-roundprotectionbyajointmilitary-police
force charged with safeguarding Guatemala's natural resources.
Volunteers are welcome at the site, giving visitors an exciting opportunity to
help out in the conservation of Guatemala's exotic creatures while helping to
fund the biological station's efforts.
