Smithsonian Institute
I headed out with my newly repaired camera with the intent of checking it out at the Smithsonian Institution. It had been raining on and off all the previous night and all morning, so I packed a big zip lock bag for my camera. I started my trek around 2:40 and it quickly became apparent that I wasn’t going to get there by 3:00 so I hailed a cab and arrived at 2:55. It was hot and muggy as I waited for the tour to begin. At 3:05 I asked the guard if I was to go in the building my self, where was this tour? He made a phone call and I waited.
I went out front and took a picture of the plaque, the english text of which follows:
Plaque content
The Smithsonian Institute was founded in Washington, DC in 1846 after a british scientist, James Smithson, left an inheritance “…to the United States of America to found at Washington, an establishment for increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” Since then the museum has grow to include 19 museums, 9 research centers and the National Zoological Park located in Washington. D.C.
A part of the Smithsonian Institute, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute was born when Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal became a research site in 1923. Since then it has grown to include 9 sites in Panama. They provide leading researchers access to tropical forests, reefs, mangroves and island ecosystems.
The Bocas del Toro Research Station was founded in 1998, an ideal platform for both marine and terrestrial research. The station hosts yearly scientists and students from over 34 countries, as well as local students who take part in the school outreach program.
Size of site: 6 hectares
Laboratory building inaugurated in 2003.
The build in environmentally friendly with solar panel roof, rainwater collector and natural lighting.
More time was killed by walking around the front area taking pictures.
At 3:10 my guide showed up and we proceeded to walk down the path where he pointed out mimosa pudica a
plant that folds up its leaves when disturbed. It happens amazingly quickly considering that it is a plant, less than a second. I’m guessing a grazing animal disturbing it would cause it to “shrivel up” and appear much less lush.
Panama has three types of sloths, the two toed, the three toed and the pygmy three towed.
There are eight known three toed and two two toed sloths in the park. As it is fenced off and there are no trees near the fences that reach adjacent property, the prospects for the two toed seem a bit dicey and the pygmy is not likely to materialize.
Interesting information on sloths.
We observed a few birds, notably …
Then we went inside the research facility, took several glasses of chilled water and I was pointed to the “donations jar”. It said that $5 would bring a class full of kids to the center. I got the hint and deposited a $5 into the jar, tripling the value of its contents.
Out the back door were endless shelves that last year held 250 terrariums for a research project on the oophaga pumilio frog. This frog is known by a great many names based on the color and location. The research was an attempt to figure out why there were so many color variations.
At this point I was told several things that contradict information I have read elsewhere including:
Poisonous specimens come in the following colors:
- Red, with blue feet and a spot on the back
- Green with yellow belly and spots on the back
- Blue with black spots on the back.
and that others are far less poisonous. I’ve been told that the effect handling the frogs and touching the lips is a temporary numbness. It is my understanding the original source of the frogs poison is the alkoloids from plants; the frogs feed on insects which feed on these plants. The frogs of different colors are in different locales, but I don’t know that the plant diversity is that great on neighboring islands. I was told that
- Green with black spots from Bocas Island (Isla Colon)
- Red comes from Isla Solarte
- Bastimentos has a huge variety of colors including
pink, yellow, white, purple, yellow with white
Bastimentos is famous for its red frogs and one of the most popular destinations in Bocas is Red Frog beach. One of the curators came to tell us that he had spotted a 3 toed sloth with an infant so we went off to photograph it. I’d never seen an infant sloth before. As we returned to continue our path 4 Northern Jacana crossed the path, two adults and two juveniles. The guide told me that the smaller adult was the male and that the male protected the young. Sure enough as we continued down the trail pappa and the two juveniles skittered one way and mamma went off on her own, but still watching them with interest. We wandered the trails looking for sloths and monkeys; there is a small troop of howler monkeys in the confines, but didn’t see anything. A small snake scurried across the path and was identified as a “road snake”. I’ve never heard of such a thing and can’t find any reference on the web. A small enclosure marked “Bat Home” sat empty in the jungle. The enclosure had been completed for months before and was to be used by a group from the University of Wisconsin in the forthcoming months. Hmmm, it’s snowing in Wisconsin now. How did this timing come about? A quick walk to the dock followed a discussion on identification of the various types of Mangrove, all of which were growing within 4 meters of the sign describing their characteristics. Mangroves are the filters of the tropics, but people don’t like them as the block the water view from shore and they harbor chitras, tiny biting fleas. That concluded the trip. I was told by the guide that he had 4 other tours of the facility, I’m not sure how this is possible.
Jonathan Allen LaFleur