Whale/Manatee around Belize

[Txwoman]

This is probably going to be a stupid question so please don't laugh out loud.

 

If you are on the cruise ship: Do you ever get a chance to see whale or Manatee (sp?) in the area around Belize. We will be there in September if that makes a difference. I've never spent alot of time on the decks looking for what I may see. Just don't want to miss something important.

 

Thank you

[LonW]

Here is some information you can read the rest at rthis web site:

http://www.belize.com/belize-whale-watching-vacation-packages.html

 

Whale Watching in Belize:

Whale sharks are the true behemoths of the fish world: they can grow longer than a bus (up to a purported 18 meters long) yet eat little animals no bigger than your finger - known as zooplankton- by filtering them out from the surrounding water, similar to a whale's feeding strategy. However, finding these big fish is not always that easy. Only 9 places in the world, all located in tropical waters, are known so far to have predictable whale shark visits, and Belize is one of the few chosen countries that the whale sharks predictably visit.

 

Known locally as “Sapodilla Tom” for the fisherman who first saw them near the Sapodilla Cayes on the southern end of the Belize Barrier Reef, whale sharks congregate at Gladden Spit every March to June. Shaped like an elbow pointing out to the Caribbean Sea, Gladden Spit is also a very important place for over 25 species of reef fish that come together at specific times of the year, usually right around the full moon, to reproduce. Although some reef fish species reproduce in pairs or in small groups, dog and cubera snappers aggregate in the hundreds or even thousands to reproduce, known as spawning aggregations. During a spawning event, female and male fish rise in the water as groups, releasing millions of eggs and sperm. The fertilized eggs float and are carried by currents until the larvae hatch. A healthy aggregation can produce hundreds of billions of eggs. And like the eggs on our breakfast table, they contain a lot of energy which makes this caviar very attractive to whale sharks. However, the eggs need to be in dense clumps for them to be attractive to the whale sharks and spawned eggs disperse very quickly. So the whale shark and many other species of fish that feed on the eggs are only able to capture some of the fertilized eggs before it is no longer worth their while to target this food.

[Txwoman]

Thank you.

 

I saw that website, but I thought those were shark instead of whale..but obviously I don't know my water creatures..I'm going to go back and read it in detail. Thanks again

[LonW]

Thank you.

 

I saw that website, but I thought those were shark instead of whale..but obviously I don't know my water creatures..I'm going to go back and read it in detail. Thanks again

 

You are correct, it is a fish like the article says not a whale. It is a Whale Shark, the largest know fish in the sea. It is a Fish not mammal.:)

[TrqoisWtrs]

Don't know what cruise you will be on, but last time we did an excursion through the ship - a ruins tour and then a tour along the river. Before we entered the river, we were able to see a few manatees in the water. Then when I stayed on Ambergris Caye last year on a land vacation, we took an all day excursion and really got to see the manatees. This guy did a flip that splashed the boat. Could also see the barnacles on his back.

 

I doubt if you would see anything around the pier, since its too busy. You would probably need to take an excursion.

 

As to whale sharks, they are mostly seen around the Placencia area, which is not close to where the ships dock.

[Texsungirl]

TxWoman, I saw Manatees in in Belize, however, we were on Ambergris Caye (the largest island off the coast of Belize). I woul dbe surprised if you would see a manatee from your cruiseliner (although you may be able to find an excursion) they prefer to live in the mangroves and can be very reclusive. The area where we found them was a no propeller zone which mean they had to pull the motor out of the water and pole in.

 

Hope this helps and best of luck to you. They are majestic creatures.