The small motorboat, hired to take us to the ancient ruins of Altun Ha by way of a relaxing ride down the River Wallace, moved at pleasantly slow pace allowing its passengers to take in the exotic surroundings and squint into the dense forest anxious for glimpses of fascinating animals in their natural habitat.  I tipped my head back and enjoyed the sun on my face while listening to the sounds of the Belize jungle.  It was mostly quiet. Quiet enough to hear the soft wind moving the trees, only highlighted by chirps and tweets from the local bird community.  And then I heard these primal roars that shattered the quiet.  I jumped up in the boat and grabbed my boyfriend’s arm, “Jungle cats!  Did you hear them?”  My eyes must have been huge!  “I think it was a jaguar!” I yelled ignorantly.

Our boat pulled over so we could observe the source of the sound. A troupe of Howler monkeys squared off in the trees near the river.  Our guide, amused at the reactions of her guests, explained to us that Howler monkeys only allow one adult male in each troupe.  Male offspring are forced out of the troupe at adulthood, to prevent any competition to the head male.  What we were observing was an adult male trying to approach the females of another troupe.  The dominant male of the troupe was giving off some serious warning roars to the encroacher.  I had no idea that monkeys could make a noise like that.  I was certain I was hearing jungle cats before I saw them with my own eyes.  It took me awhile to think of getting video, I was completely in shock, but I still managed to grab a small clip of the scene before our boat pulled away from the edge.  It does sound less intimidating when I am watching the clip at my computer, tea in hand, but in person, standing just below these daunting creatures, that is one effective survival tool.