Posts Tagged ‘jaguar’

My first visit to Mamoni Arriba

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

It is easy to quickly recognize the beauty of the Mamoni landscape. Multiple hill tops spread across the landscape were visible from the road to Mamoni Arriba. The surprise I felt laid in the fact that these hills and mountains were fully covered with jungle and not cattle pastures. These days, mountain tops covered with jungle are rare sights in the Panamanian country side, but not in Mamoni. I felt proud and content to be part of this journey into the Mamoni Valley.

I parted from Panamá city early in the morning towards the North East into Mamoni Arriba. My objective was to meet the local people and understand the landscape so that I could plan a longer visit. Luckily for me, I was accompanied by Roland who was born in Mamoni and has been working for Earth Train for many years. I was also accompanied by Carlos Andrés who is a Panamanian lawyer that works for Earth Train and has spent valuable time working in the valley. I had been warned about the access road to Mamoni Arriba because during the rainy season it becomes difficult to ride. However, Rolando’s driving skills did the trick and got us to Mamoni Arriba in no time.

The landscape going down the road and into the Mamoni valley was truly amazing. The valley per say was mostly covered by pasture land. In the background I could see the mountains that surround the valley and that are shared with the Chagres National Park and the Comarca of Kuna Yala. The forest that lies on these mountains is what we in ecoReserve are working to protect. I was imagining myself crossing the mountains to Kuna Yala when Rolando decided to stop at “el filo”. El “filo” is the spot with the highest altitude on the road to Mamoni Arriba. Rolando showed me the Caribbean towards the North. I knew it was the Caribbean because I could clearly see the islands that are part of Kuna Yala. I’ve never visited these islands but now I can say that I’ve seen them from a distance.

Once we made it to Mamoni Arriba we met with Arsenio. Arsenio is a very funny man and with a lot of energy. I wanted him to take me to the forest, to a very “specific spot”! Since I had never been in the valley the only way I could explain to him where I wanted to go was by showing him an aerial photography of Mamoni Arriba. In somewhat of a silly manner he told me that, “he couldn’t understand the image because the highest altitude he had ever seen his house from was 14 meters”. I immediately thought to myself how I had felt the same way the first time I looked for my house on Google earth. I started laughing.

We spend quite sometime figuring out a way to reach the “specific spot” that I wanted to visit. We figured out our starting point for my next visit. The starting point will be where the Espavé stream connects with the Mamoní River. I met with many more people and got a very good feeling for the site.

Chocó-Darien Hotspot

Friday, August 6th, 2010

ecoReserve’s first reserve located in the Mamoni Valley is part of the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena Hotspot and includes a small portion of the Chocó/Darién wet region, one of the two major regions in the hotspot.

ecoReserve’s Mamoni Valley reserve falls in two of the 34 internationally recognized biodiversity hotspots: 1) the Mesoamerica Biodiversity Hotspot and 2) the Tumbes-Choco-Magdalena Hotspot. Although both start in Panama, the Mesoamerica Biodiversity Hotspot runs northward, but the Tumbes-Choco-Magdalena Hotspot runs southward. Because we have already discussed the Mesoamerica Biodiversity Hotspot, this post will focus on the Tumbes-Choco-Magdalena Hotspot. The Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena Hotspot starts in the southeastern portion of Mesoamerica and extends to the northwestern corner of South America with a reach of 1600 kilometers, which is close to 1000 miles. The hotspot is divided into two main regions, the northernmost Chocó/Darién wet and moist forests located in the Darién Province in Panama and the Chocó region in western Colombia to the southernmost Tumbesian dry forests of Ecuador and the northwestern part of Peru.

The Darién Province is one of the most diverse, remote regions in Central America and is protected by dense pristine forests and jungle. At over 3 million acres, it is the largest province in Panama, the most sparsely populated, and the least well known. It is a region of dense tropical rainforest and is among the most complete ecosystems of all tropical America. The Darién is mostly uninhabited mountains, jungle, and swamplands, and it has one of the richest ecosystems of the American tropics. It is also home to many endangered species, such as the jaguar, the giant anteater, the harpy eagle, and the tapir.

Until 20 years ago, there were no roads in the Darién, and travel through the region was very difficult. Before the roads were built, the indigenous people of the area, the Embera, Wounaan, and Kuna, relied mainly on water transportation because they live in settlements scattered along the river valley . Today the Pan-American Highway cuts through the middle of Darien. This gravel highway extends down as far as the town of Yaviza, which is the beginning of the famed Darien Gap. This 100 km gap, which is the only uncompleted piece of the the Pan-American Highway, is impossible for travelers to pass and survive. The highway poses another danger as well. Because the highway connects overland commerce between North and South America, it has opened up the region to cattle ranchers, loggers, and landless peasants. As a result, both the natural forest and the indigenous people of the Darién are being threatened.

The biggest objection to completion of the highway is its effect on the region’s ecological balance and the danger it poses to the survival and habitat of the indigenous people living in the region. It would also extend the already dramatic deforestation of the area.

Finding the Jaguar Path in Panama: Julia Kumari Drapkin reports from Panama.

Monday, June 7th, 2010

ecoReserve’s initial reserve  in Panama in the Mamoni Valley Preserve borders on Chagres National Park (the northwestern corner of the Mamoni Valley Preserve borders on the Chagres National Park).

National parks around the world provide important refuge for people and wildlife. They’re places where humans can reconnect with the natural world and where animals are protected from human encroachment.

But parks rarely provide enough habitat to ensure the survival of an entire species. This is especially true of large predators like jaguars. Jaguars are the biggest cats in the all of the Americas. And in Central America, scientists are trying to protect Jaguars by finding and protecting the corridors that the cats use as they roam from park to park.

Chagres National Park in Panama is one of these places where the big cat roams. This park is located on the eastern side of the Panama Canal, between the provinces of Panama and Colon. With a surface of 129,000 hectares (300,000 acres), this park was created to protect the tropical rainforest around the rivers that run through it and which are the main source of water for the Panama Canal.

Learn about jaguar protection work in Panama in Chagres National Park

This park was created with the objective of preserving the natural forest of which it consists, in order to produce water in sufficient quantities and of adequate quality to guarantee normal operations of the Panama Canal, as well as supplying drinking water to the cities of Panama, Colon and La Chorrera and at the same time generating electricity for Panama and Colon.

This area is home to species such as the:

  • Jaguar
  • Mantled howler monkey
  • Northern tamandua (anteater)
  • More than 560 bird species are found in the Alto Chagres region.

Scientists at Panthera will create a map of so-called jaguar corridors. But even as Olmos discovers these jaguar corridors, they’re already being severed by new human ones. A multilane highway is under construction right between the parks. It’s not just the highway itself that poses a threat to jaguars but the development it’s likely to bring. More access, brings more people, more houses, more stores.

Jaguar Swims the Panama Canal Then Takes Own Picture

Friday, April 9th, 2010

Check out the interesting article about a Jaguar in Panama.  Is it the same jaguar?  Guess!

http://ecolocalizer.com/2009/05/11/jaguar-swims-panama-canal-then-takes-own-picture/