Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sealife
Five species of sea turtles can be seen on Guatemala's Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, where
they also come ashore to lay their eggs. These are olive ridley, hawksbill, leatherback,
green, and loggerhead. Of these, olive ridley, leatherback, and hawksbill turtles nest on the
Pacific shores and can be seen at the Monterrico-Hawaii Biotope. Between September and
January,visitorstothisparkhavetherareopportunitytoholdbabyseaturtlesintheirhands
before releasing them to begin their mad dash across the sand and a lifetime at sea. If they
survive to adulthood, the females will return to very same beach to lay their eggs and be-
gin a new life cycle. All of these turtle species are endangered because of the harvesting
of their eggs by poor coastal dwellers in search of food and a means to supplement their
incomes.
Guatemala's Pacific sailfish have become the object of widespread praise in the angling
circuit with blue marlin, Pacific sailfish, and yellowfin tuna just waiting to be caught.
Humpback whales can also be seen breaching in the Pacific waters. As for the Caribbean
Coast,GuatemalajustmissedoutontheBelizeBarrierReef,asitendsrightatthedoorstep
of the Punta de Manabique peninsula. The barrier reef is easily accessible, however, along
with the wonders of its corals and exotic fish. Although lacking the barrier reef per se, the
waters off Guatemala's Atlantic Coast are certainly not devoid of exotic sea life. Bottle-
nosed dolphins readily follow motorboats as they make their way along the Caribbean
coast.Theendangeredmanatee
(Trichechus manatus),
orseacow,hasbecomeincreasingly
rareasthelarge,slow,seagrass-eatingmammalhasfallenpreytohunting,motorboats,and
drowning in fishing nets. A small reserve in Izabal's El Golfete is attempting to protect the
few that remain in Guatemalan waters.
Amphibians
There are 112 species of amphibians represented in Guatemala. Guatemala is out of range
for some of the colorful miniature frogs, such as poison arrow frogs, found farther south in
Costa Rica and Panama, but there are still some interesting frogs to be found in Guatem-
ala'stropicalforests;amongthesearethered-eyedtreefrog
(Agalychnis callidryas)
andthe
similar Morelet's tree frog
(Agalychnis moreletti).
Fleischmann's glass frog
(Hyalinobat-
rachium fleischmanni)
is translucent and lime green with small yellow spots and yellowish
hands.Itsorgansandbonesarevisiblethroughtheabdominalskin.Allthreeoftheseprefer
vegetation near rivers and streams.
Reptiles
With214speciesofreptiles,Guatemalahasnoshortageofsnakes.Amongthelittlecritters
to watch out for are the fer-de-lance
(Bothrops asper),
known locally as
barba amarilla.
The aggressive pit viper is found in abundant quantities in the tropical forests of Petén,
Izabal, and the Verapaces, though you are not likely to see one. Baby fer-de-lance can be
