Community Baboon Sanctuary

Belize River Valley, Belize Dist., Belize

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Community Baboon Sanctuary in Belize District, Belize, is a pioneering community-led conservation area established in 1985 along the Belize River Valley, spanning over 5,000 hectares across seven Creole villages like Bermudian Landing to protect the endangered black howler monkey, locally called "baboons," through voluntary landowner pledges preserving forest corridors.

Founded by primatologist Dr. Robert Horwich and local Fallet Young amid threats from deforestation and hunting, it has boosted howler populations from near extinction to thousands while fostering ecotourism, education, and sustainable livelihoods managed by the women's conservation group since 1998.

Visitors explore via guided walks, canoe trips, and trails spotting howlers' iconic roars, jabiru storks, crocodiles, and iguanas in lagoons and savannas, embodying Belize's model of grassroots wildlife protection.