The Central American country of Panama is known for having a dry season that lasts approximately one-quarter of the year on one side of the country, and rain throughout on the other. The weather and humidity in Panama during the rainy season can be both steamy and oppressive with a regular high of approximately ninety-five degrees. Much like the seasons of "winter" and "summer", Panama has "wet" and "dry" seasons. Almost half of the country is covered by rainforests, mangrove wetlands, and moutain cloud forests; one of the last tropical dry forests in Central America sits within Panama City.
Diversity by the Numbers.
Panama is known for its ecological diversity; both its plant and animals life is unique due to its placement between both Central and South America. It is the only land corridor for many rare bird species that migrate between the two America's, and because of this, there are over 300 species of birds to be found. Many consider Panama a "hub of biodiversity". There are also approximately 1500 different types of animals. Over 200 species of mammals, 200 species of reptiles, and 100 species of amphibians, and these are conservative estimates. The waters of Panama are home to five of the world's seven sea turtle species at different times throughout the year. The protected reefs support large tropical fish populations as well as humpback and sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins, reef, and whales shakes. Five species of macaws and nearly 20 kinds of parrots and parakeets live in Panama. Many birds, including turkey vultures, and North American raptors migrate through the Panama skies. Five species of big cats-jaguars, ocelots, jaguarundis, margays and pumas live in the Panamanian jungles. Panama is one of the few places where these species still coexist in the wild.
Creatures of...
The Coiba Island Howler Monkey lives off the coast of Panama, on Coiba Island. They have tails without hair on the bottom, which allows the monkey to use it for grasping and feeding. These monkeys can be found in two types of groups: a group with a male, a few females, and their offspring, or a group of bachelor males. Interestingly, the members of the bachelor group will fight with the males in the other group as a means to take over their group. The females give birth to one single offspring, and will help one another care for the infants.
The Pygmy Three-toed Sloth can only be found on Isla Escudo de Veraguas, which has been seperated from mainland Panama for 9000 years. They are good swimmers, and are able to masterfully hide from predators due to their fur often being coated in algae, which helps them blend into the forest habitat. Due to spending so much time upside down, their hair actually grows in the opposite direction of the hair of most animals.
Sibon noalamina is a nocturnal species of snail eating snake just discovered in 2012. Their name is a rough Spanish translation of "say no to the mines!" which the discovering scientists chose in hopes of gaining attention to the mining and deforestation suffrage in Panama's Tabasará mountains. These snakes are distinct from other snail eating snakes by their unique escalation.
The Polkadot Poison Frog is either black or brown, and covered in raised yellow spots. They lack Maximillary teeth, making them different from their closest relatives. They live in the cooler, dense cloud forests of Panama covered in moss, are often covered in fog, or experiencing rain showers. They are highly toxic and can cause breathing difficulty.
The Yellow Dyer Rain Frog is another new frog species newly (in 2012) discovered in Panama. This frog belongs to a species-rich group of frogs that do not have a tadpole stage, but develop as little frogs inside the eggs. It was also discovered, when handling these frogs, that it dyes a person's fingers yellow. Biologists studied these frogs to determine that they were in fact a new species, and also to determine whether or not the yellow stain was poisonous, (they could not find any poisonous components).
Threats Against...
One of the biggest threats against the creatures that call Panama home is habitat destruction. The tropical forests are mostly inaccessible but opening it up to roadways is a constant discussion in the country. Many consider the opening up of a rainforest for roadway to be the beginning of accelerated deforestation. This also makes the depths of the forests more accessible for human invasion. Mining is also a concern as numerous mining companies have expressed interest in what is called the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. Much of their rainforests have been flooded for canal construction, which has also resulted in habitat loss. Many creatures call the rainforests home, which are being cleared and destroyed for logging, cattle ranching, and farming. This also leads to the threat of potential oil and chemical spills. This is due to the amount of oil that is transported through the Panama Canal, and other various pipelines. Marine animals are also at risk due to the luxary-development boom. When high-end resorts are built near, and on, beaches, many of the marine species are also at risk for overfishing, and other threats that create an increased number of tourists and visitors in their waters.
How can you help?
There are some really simple ways you can help fight deforestation, one of the biggest threats against the Creatures of Panama:
• Try to go paperless as much as possible.
• Recycle, and buy recycled products.
• Do NOT buy products that contain palm oil. If you have a smart phone, check out the app store for a Palm oil scanner so you can easily see if your products contain palm oil.
• Look for FSC certification of wood products that you are thinking about buying. The FSC sets standards for responsible forest management.
