« Playa Blanca is a resort worth visiting | Home | Royal Caribbean Announces Southern Caribbean Itineraries From Panama »
Visit the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute at Barro Colorado
By The Panama Gringo | August 2, 2007
A visit to Barro Colorado offers the opportunity to discover the splendor of a humid tropical forest.
Barro Colorado, the largest forested island in the Panama Canal waterway, is part of the Barro Colorado Nature Monument (BCNM) and is the site of an internationally recognized biological research station.
The wildlife there is extremely diverse. There are probably thousands of insect species and more than 120 species of mammals, nearly half of which are bats. If you are patient and observant, you will discover amazing things. You will learn about research in progress and about the rich natural history of Barro Colorado. We hope to pique your interest in tropical ecosystems, because you are key to the protection of this natural environment.
Did you know that… ?
* The Barro Colorado Nature Monument includes Barro Colorado Island and five surrounding mainland peninsulas: Gigante, Peña Blanca, Bohio, Buena Vista, and Frijoles.
* The annual precipitation on the Island averages 2,600mm.
* Five monkey species, all native to Panama, live on Barro Colorado Island: Spider Monkey, White-faced Monkey, Geoffrey’s Tamarin, Howler Monkey, and Night Monkey.
* 225 species of ants have been documented on Barro Colorado Island.
* Barro Colorado Nature Monument is home to the “50-hectare Plot”, an integral part of the Center of Tropical Forest Science’s “Earth Observatory” which spans three continents. It allows scientists to measure precisely, instead of guess, tree population fluctuations in tropical forest.
* Barro Colorado Island is one of the most studied places on Earth and has become a prototype for measuring diversity of plant and animal life around the world.