The Trail Camera ProgramA Window Into the Wild
Trail Cameras at Chan Chich Lodge
Five trail cameras are stationed at carefully chosen spots throughout the reserve, quietly capturing footage of whatever passes by, day or night. Emil Flota, one our team's wildlife enthusiasts, checks each camera by hand periodically, swapping memory cards and batteries and reviewing what's been recorded.
A note on sightings: our trail cameras capture real, wild animals living their normal lives, completely undisturbed. That means there's never a guarantee of what a camera (or a guide) will find on any given day.
The Chan Chich Neighborhood
Footage here is just everyday life in the Belize Maya Forest. A jaguar walking its usual route, a boa constrictor blending into the leaf litter, a gray fox curled up for a nap, a wood-rail picking its way along the trail. We love being able to share our corner of the jungle with you.
A rare nighttime record of two jaguars pairing up. One of our most unique captures on the trail cameras.
A Gray-necked Wood-Rail picks its way along a muddy rainforest trail.
A jaguar wanders a moss-covered trail, pausing now and then to graze on grass along the way.
A puma stops just feet from the camera, studying it for a moment before slipping back into the rainforest.
A single trail, five different visitors: a jaguar, a puma by day and again by night, an ocelot, a tayra, and a deer, all caught passing through the very same spot.
A boa constrictor, coiled almost invisibly in the leaf litter, has just caught its next meal, a bird held fast in its coils.
An ocelot inspects the camera and a pair of white-tailed skunks play around under the cover of night.
A tapir wades through a rocky forest stream before ambling right past the camera.
A Bare-Throated Tiger Heron struts across on trail camera on a sunny day.
A gray fox plays and curls up for a rest in a quiet forest clearing, in no hurry to move along.
A family of Great Curassows forages together along the forest floor, unbothered by the camera.
Cubs, Kittens, or Calves?
Turns out the rainforest has its own baby-name etiquette. A jaguar cub is a cub, no surprises there. But a baby puma or ocelot? That's a kitten. A young tapir is a calf. And a baby peccary is just, well, young. Our trail cameras have caught every one of them here at Chan Chich, so consider this your cheat sheet before you spot the real thing.
One camera, one night: a tapir and her calf, a passing puma, a curious opossum, and a skunk, all sharing the same stretch of rainforest.
A mother ocelot leads her cub across a quiet clearing in the early morning light
A single view catches it all: peccaries with their young, an ocelot, a jaguar by daylight, and pumas passing through.
Two spotted puma cubs, still wearing their baby markings, explore a forest clearing together.
A jaguar strolls by, and moments later the camera catches something rarer still: what looks like her two older cubs, following her around on a few occasions
Not Just Jaguars
Jaguars get most of the attention, but they're just a fraction of what our cameras actually capture. After reviewing hours and years of footage, the trail cameras have captured the following species:
The southern spotted skunk, is a first for the lodge. It's a good reminder that even after decades of watching this rainforest, it can still surprise us. We've even caught several of these animals with young in tow. This reserve isn't just passing wildlife through it, it's raising the next generation of it too.
Curious about everything else that calls the reserve home? See our full Wildlife page, or dig into 370-plus recorded species on our Birding Checklist.
TRAIL CAMERA VIEWING SESSIONSA Chance to view footage while on property.
During your stay, join our wildlife team for a relaxed evening session reviewing the latest footage together. It's part show-and-tell, part detective work in figuring out which jaguar just walked through frame, spotting a species you'd never expect, and hearing the story behind each clip.
Trail camera sessions usually take place on Tuesdays and Thursday at 5:00 pm, in the looters trench bar, but the schedule is subject to change. Please ask your guide or the front desk upon arrival.