Sharon Matola
Encyclopedia
Sharon Matola is a biologist
and environmentalist
originally from Baltimore
, Maryland
, USA. She is the founding director of the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center
, a zoo
which was started in 1983 to protect native animals that had been used in a documentary film
in Belize
.
, arrived in that country after a colorful career that included a stint with a Romanian lion-tamer and a circus
tour through Mexico
.
Matola was hired by filmmaker Richard Foster
in 1982 to care for 20 animals being used in the making of a wildlife documentary film. When shooting of the film was completed, she was left to decide how to dispose of the animals. Many of them were too tame for life in the wild, so the idea of an unusual zoo cropped up. Matola hung signs around the country to raise awareness about the wealth of Belizean wildlife and the country's deteriorating habitat; and she went outside Belize to raise money from environmental groups.
The zoo is now home to over 125 native species, and instructs people about Belize's wildlife.
.
She's also been a contributor to BFBS Radio in Belize since 1992, starting with a popular wildlife series called "Walk on the Wildside", in which she explored the lives of Belize's flora and fauna. She now freelances for the BFBS.
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
and environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
originally from Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, USA. She is the founding director of the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center
Belize Zoo
The Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center is a zoo in Belize, located some west of Belize City on the Western Highway. Set in , the zoo was founded in 1983 by Sharon Matola. It is home to more than 125 animals of about 48 species, all native to Belize. The natural environment of Belize is left...
, a zoo
Zoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
which was started in 1983 to protect native animals that had been used in a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
in Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
.
Belize zoo
Matola, the founder and driving force behind Belize's first zooZoo
A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....
, arrived in that country after a colorful career that included a stint with a Romanian lion-tamer and a circus
Circus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
tour through Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
Matola was hired by filmmaker Richard Foster
Richard Foster
Richard Foster may refer to:* R. F. Foster , card-game writer* Richard Foster , Democratic member of the Alaska House of Representatives * Richard Foster...
in 1982 to care for 20 animals being used in the making of a wildlife documentary film. When shooting of the film was completed, she was left to decide how to dispose of the animals. Many of them were too tame for life in the wild, so the idea of an unusual zoo cropped up. Matola hung signs around the country to raise awareness about the wealth of Belizean wildlife and the country's deteriorating habitat; and she went outside Belize to raise money from environmental groups.
The zoo is now home to over 125 native species, and instructs people about Belize's wildlife.
Other environmental work
Matola fought to stop Belize's Chalillo Dam project. Her struggle was documented in the book The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Woman's Fight to Save the World's Most Beautiful Bird (2008), by Bruce BarcottBruce Barcott
Bruce Barcott is an American editor, environmental journalist and author. He is a contributing editor of Outside and has written articles for The New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, Mother Jones, Sports Illustrated, Harper's Magazine, Legal Affairs, Utne Reader and others...
.
She's also been a contributor to BFBS Radio in Belize since 1992, starting with a popular wildlife series called "Walk on the Wildside", in which she explored the lives of Belize's flora and fauna. She now freelances for the BFBS.
Further reading
- Bruce BarcottBruce BarcottBruce Barcott is an American editor, environmental journalist and author. He is a contributing editor of Outside and has written articles for The New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, Mother Jones, Sports Illustrated, Harper's Magazine, Legal Affairs, Utne Reader and others...
(2008). The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw: One Woman's Fight to Save the World's Most Beautiful Bird. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6293-5