PANAMÁ, THE CALL OF NATURE

Three species of turtles in extinction danger annually arrive at Panamanian coasts to fulfill the cycle of life.

Every year they meet in Panamanian beaches. They arrive quiet with an objective and they do not leave until to have fulfilled its task of laying thousands of eggs that, between 45 and 60 days later will become small turtles that will run towards the sea as soon as they touch the sand. read full article

Between Fire ants and Jaguars

A dense rainforest is the perfect environment for endless species of animals and plants in a protected reserve located a few miles from Panama City:
Barro Colorado Island, that along to five adjoining peninsulas, forms the Barro Colorado Natural Monument.

The Chagres River was dammed during the construction of the Canal (1910 to
1914) and as its waters rose to form Gatun Lake , a small mountain of 476 ft. was isolated from the mainland and formed Barro Colorado Island. This island lodges one of the stations of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, that for over 80 years have studied the diversity of fauna and flora of this place and its importance to humanity.

This small but valuable stretch of land is shelter for many species of animals, from insects like fire ants and many others, to 120 mammal species and five species of native monkeys of Panama. For years, this island have been visited for foreigners and local tourists who became amazed of the abundance and preservation of the species, some of them endangered species.

In top of all this attractions, the island is now making worldwide news for a particular visitor that arrived to the forest days ago. We are talking about a beautiful and impressive jaguar that was photographed by a web camera installed in a tree (with the purpose of making species census). The most interesting fact is that this stretch of land is not big enough to host feline families, which makes us guess that this curious outsider, swam across the Gatún Lake for about 200 yards from his habitat. We don't know for how long this jaguar was swimming, or for how long he stayed in the island, but the truth is that this fascinating discovery fulfills environmentalists and Panamanian people with hope and optimism.
 

A fight against poverty and vandalism in Panamá

The program called "Tourist Assistants", is an idea the Minister of Tourism of Panama, Rubén Blades had at the end of the year 2004. He met with a group of younsters, all of them former gang members from popular areas of Panamá in the Washington Hotel in Colon City. In this meeting he explained his desire to implement a program where they could become tourist assistants after receiving full and complete training. read full article
 

A FESTIVE AND COLORFUL FOLKLORIC EXTRAVAGANCE FROM PANAMA INVADES NORTHERN EUROPE

During the month of February, the cold airs of Holland, Norway, Finland and Sweden will be filled with the warmth and flamboyancy of Panama´s rich syncretism. The Danza de los Diablicos or "Dance of the Little Devils" will be performed by a colorful group of Panamanian dancers and musicians in the streets of these cities.

World’s Largest Snake Discovered in Fossilized Rainforest

Sixty million years before Jennifer Lopez starred in the film “Anaconda,” the world’s biggest snake slithered around northern South America. Excavations in Colombia co-organized by Carlos Jaramillo, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama and Jonathan Bloch, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the University of Florida’s Florida Museum of Natural History, unearthed fossil remains of a new snake species named Titanoboa cerrejonensis.

Smithsonian Scientists Receive Coveted BBVA Ecology and Conservation Award

Outstanding leaders in tropical biology and conservation, William F. Laurance, senior staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Thomas E. Lovejoy, research associate at the Institute and Biodiversity Chair at the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, have won the coveted 2008 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Ecology and Conservation Biology, announced on 30 Jan. 2009 in Madrid, Spain. - read full article

Finca La Maya to celebrate Inauguration of new Community Library

26 January 2009 San Carlos, Rep. of Panama
At last! Thanks to private donations, local business sponsors, and wonderful support from friends, the new community library at Finca La Maya (FLM), a Cultural Arts & Events Center near San Carlos, is finally ready to open.