One Gutsy American Woman

The Belize Zoo owes its existence to the dedication and drive of one gutsy, American woman, Sharon Matola. Matola came to Belize as part of a film crew, but stayed on to care for some of the semi-tame animals used in the production. She opened the zoo in 1983, and in 1991 it moved to its present location. Matola's also an active environmentalist. Her story, and her crusade against the Chalillo Dam, is the subject of the 2008 book The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Woman's Fight To Save the World's Most Beautiful Bird by Bruce Barcott.