Animal encounters
From a face-of with a friendly macaque to a near miss with hurtling white rhinos, our staf and contributors recall run-ins with beasts, birds and bugs
James Kay, editor @jameskay123
MANATEES IN BELIZE
My wife and had spent a day snorkelling at Hol Chan Marine Reserve in Belize, where we saw loggerhead turtles, stingrays and nurse sharks. On the way back to shore our guide spotted a shadow in the water. Just a few metres below was a West Indian manatee, a rare marine mammal that looks like a friendlier version of a walrus. It didn’t mind our presence at a distance, so we swam above it for 15 minutes. Then, with a swish of its spade-shaped tail, it was gone.