Role of Zoos and Corporations in Conserving Panamanian Amphibians

The Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project was created in 2009 as a partnership between Zoo New England, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Houston Zoo, Smithsonian National Zoo, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Defenders of Wildlife to build captive populations of species at risk of extinction from the deadly amphibian chytrid fungus. Together we have built significant capacity for amphibian conservation in Pamama by contributing financial resources, involving zoo staff in field work to collect and care for endangered amphibians, training our Panamanian colleagues in state-of-the art animal care, veterinary care, pedigree management and record-keeping.

Since the project was established, Zoos have provided approximately $300K per year with a total investment of $2.7m in the project that leveraged additional support of $3.9m in grants from Miambiente, First Quantum Minerals (Cobre Panama), USAID, the National Science Foundation, SENACYT, National Geographic, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, the Morris Animal foundation and other private donors. First Quantum Minerals (Cobre Panama) has been our largest corporate contributor, providing approximately $450K per year with a total investment of $2.3m in the project.

Milestones

Endangered Frogs
Established founding populations of 12 species of Panama’s most endangered frogs, including Panama’s iconic Panamanian Golden Frog. Reproduced all 12 species in captivity most of them bred in captivity for the first-time ever by project staff.

Priority rescue species PARC

Capacity-Building
Constructed the Gamboa Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Center which is now the largest amphibian conservation breeding center in the world and trained a professional cadre of conservation staff to care for the animals.

PARC Gamboa

Research
Established a world-class research program investigating the frog-killing chytrid fugus and searching for a cure for the disease. Conducting hormone stimulation research to improve captive reproduction. Continued publications of veterinary care, nutrition and husbandry of amphibians to improve knowledge to sustain captive amphibians.

Reintroductions
Conducted the first-ever reintroduction trials of amphibians to learn about the limiting factors how captive frogs transition back into the wild. This data will be used to inform future release strategies using adaptive management principles.

Education
Annual coordination of ‘Festival la Rana Dorada’ activities in Panama City, continued operation of fabulous frogs of Panama exhibition and the integrated informal schools’ curriculum.

Vision for the future
We need to continue to grow the captive amphibian populations to about 300 animals per species with even representation of founder animal genes as the primary assurance colony. This core captive population will safeguard against species’ extinction, and biological banking of gametes will help to ensure against unintended genetic bottlenecks in captivity. Surplus-bred animals will be used for further basic reintroduction research, breeding for disease-resistance, finding a cure for the amphibian chytrid fungus, and basic research that will ultimately be used to reestablish viable wild populations of these species.

A Golden Day to Fight for Frogs

Golden Frog Day parade (Photo by Brian Gratwicke)

Golden Frog Day parade (Photo by Brian Gratwicke)

Each year around August 14, the streets of El Valle de Anton in Panama fill up with golden frogs. Though they’re not the real amphibians—the Panamanian golden frog is extinct in the wild—school-age children dress up as the animals in a spirited celebration of what has become a popular national holiday: Panamanian Golden Frog Day.

“Panamanian Golden Frog Day is about being thankful for the gift of life that we are able to experience each and every day,” says Katie Uckele, a volunteer at Punta Culebra Nature Center, one of the participants in the celebrations. “The Panamanian golden frog reminds us to cherish the gift of life and celebrate biodiversity in the world.”

Kids pledge to protect frogs on Golden Frog Day. (Photo by Brian Gratwicke)

Kids pledge to protect frogs on Golden Frog Day. (Photo by Brian Gratwicke)

In 2010—just one year after the last confirmed observation of a Panamanian golden frog in the wild—Panama’s National Assembly declared August 13 National Golden Frog Day, passing a law that made the Panamanian golden frog one of Panama’s official cultural and ecological symbols. Since then the holiday has grown from the mere acknowledgement of the National Assembly’s declaration to an entire week full of frog-focused events for children and adults across the country.

This year’s Golden Frog Day started August 13, ran through August 20 and included two family days, a race for frogs, an open house at the Gamboa Amphibian Research and Conservation Center, a book fair with a live frog exhibition and a parade in El Valle.

Golden Frog Day came near the end of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project’s #FightforFrogs campaign, during which time Golden Frog—a global online services provider—matched donations to the rescue project, helping raise money critical to the Zoo’s fight for frogs. The successful digital campaign brought in $21,800 in donations. With Golden Frog’s initial donation of $10,000 and their generous commitment to match up to an additional $20,000, we’ve raised a total of $51,800 for frogs.

Frog jumping competition on Golden Frog Day (Photo by Brian Gratwicke)

Frog jumping competition on Golden Frog Day (Photo by Brian Gratwicke)

“I’m very hopeful for the future of golden frogs and several other highly endangered frogs in Panama,” says Brian Gratwicke, international coordinator for the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project. Gratwicke adds that he will be baking golden frog cupcakes for his co-workers in celebration of Panamanian Golden Frog Day. “We have a fantastic team of dedicated conservationists working at maintaining and breeding frogs, and conducting the research needed to put them back in the wild.”

Though no longer found in the wild, the golden frog is a beloved icon in Panama, where local markets sell thousands of enamel-painted terracotta and hand-carved tagua nut golden frog statues, and hand-stitched fabric works of art called molas with the likeness of the amphibian. Last year Panamanian Golden Frog Day celebrations even kicked off with a golden frog-themed national lottery ticket.

Golden Frog Day float (Photo by Brian Gratwicke)

“Panamanian golden frogs mean hope,” says Angie Estrada, a Ph.D. student at Virginia Tech and a native Panamanian. “Hope that Panamanians can reclaim and protect their rivers, streams and forest. Hope that we can collaborate with people from different countries and backgrounds when the goal is larger than our own interests. Hope that we will be able to find more frogs out in the wild, and that if we don’t we will keep looking. Hope that if they disappeared, we will be able to say that we did everything we could to help them out.”

The Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project is a project partnership between the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Houston Zoo, Zoo New England and Smithsonian Institution. You can follow the Fight for Frogs campaign on Twitter using the #FightForFrogs hashtag or on the rescue project’s Facebook page.

Join us as together we Fight for Frogs

Brian swabs frogs in the field_Brian GratwickeFrogs matter. As a kid in nursery school, I remember observing tadpoles metamorphose into froglets right before our eyes in the classroom. It was like watching a magic trick over and over again. As I grew more interested in these cool little creatures, I learned that some frogs reproduce using pouches, others by swallowing their own eggs and regurgitating their young, others still by laying eggs that hatch directly into little froglets. It was like discovering not one magic trick, but an entire magical world—except this world was no illusion, it was real. My formative experiences both in the classroom and out rummaging around cold rainy ponds at night with my best friend and a headlamp spurred me into a career in the biological sciences. They also instilled in me a deep appreciation for the incredible diversity of life.

Panamanian golden frog_Brian GratwickeToday I am focused on conserving that incredible diversity specifically among amphibians in Panama, which is home to an astounding 214 amphibian species. Or at least it was. When a deadly amphibian chytrid fungus swept through, nine species disappeared entirely, including the country’s national animal, the beautiful Panamanian golden frog.

graphical abstractSince 2009, the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project has spearheaded efforts to bring at-risk species into rescue pods to ride out the storm while we work on finding a cure. We’ve worked with partners to conduct several experiments in search of a cure and to better understand why some frogs resist infection and others do not. We have built new facilities that house highly endangered species of amphibians as part of a bigger global push to create an “Amphibian Ark.” These efforts and those of our colleagues around the world give me profound hope for our amphibian friends.

But we need your help.

Although frogs are the orchestral backdrop to every pond and forest, frogs have no voice to represent themselves, and they certainly can’t write checks. It’s up to professional conservationists, including the rescue project’s 12 talented conservationists in Panama, to save frogs so that others can enjoy them. This, however, requires money. From now until the end of August, our generous sponsor Golden Frog—a global online services provider with a terrific name—will match donations to the rescue project up to $20,000, helping us raise money critical to our fight for frogs. Your donations during the Fight for Frogs campaign will buy us equipment to care for the frogs in the rescue pods, help us continue to conduct experiments to find a cure, ensure crucial breakthroughs, and ultimately one day see the return of these incredible species to their home in the wild.

Together, let’s make a stand. Together, let’s #FightForFrogs.

The Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project is a project partnership between the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, the Houston Zoo, Zoo New England and Smithsonian Institution. You can follow the Fight for Frogs campaign on Twitter using the #FightForFrogs hashtag or on the rescue project’s Facebook page.

The Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation (PARC) project receives IX BBVA Foundation’s Biodiversity Conservation Award for Latin America

25 November, 2014, Madrid. The Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation (PARC) project was awarded the IX BBVA Foundation’s Biodiversity Conservation Award for Latin America, which recognizes projects, policies or actions that have had significant impact on the protection of habitats, species and ecosystems in Latin America.  Our project was chosen among approximately 30 nominations for its achievements in saving critically endangered amphibians in Panama and globally through research, rescue and outreach.

Roberto Ibanez BBVA Award

The award, made on Nov 25th at the Palacio del Marqués de Salamanca in Madrid, Spain includes a prize of 250,000 Euros (approx. $323,000).  The award was made to STRI’s Roberto Ibáñez, director of the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project,  Heidi Ross, director and co-founder of the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center, Sharon Ryan, STRI’s director of public programs and the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Brian Gratwicke who is the international coordinator of the amphibian rescue project.

Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project LogoPARC was created in 2009 as a partnership of eight institutions, in response to the massive loss of Panama’s amphibian biodiversity due mainly to the chytrid fungus, and has several key goals: prevent species extinctions by establishing ex-situ assurance colonies of endangered amphibians threatened with extinction from a deadly fungus decimating amphibians worldwide; develop tools to mitigate the disease and lead to reintroductions in the wild; and, engage constituents to support conservation of amphibians and habitats.

The founding organizations include Africam Safari, Houston Zoo, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, New England Zoo, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Defenders of Wildlife and  the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

To date, we have invested $1.5 million to build two ex-situ facilities in Panama, bred more than 10 endangered amphibian species, including the Panamanian Golden Frog, a conservation flagship species now extinct in the wild. Our scientists actively monitor disease and frog populations in the wild, use the latest molecular tools to find beneficial skin bacteria to help frogs fight chytridiomycosis infections, research genetic mechanisms of chytrid resistance in Panamanian Golden Frogs, and develop assisted reproduction technologies to breed frogs in captivity and cryopreserve their gametes for future use.

Kids on a float in the Golden Frog Day Parade

The Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project’s education campaign generates extensive coverage in local and international press, raising awareness and support for this crisis, including: award-winning documentary aired on Smithsonian Channel in the USA, and coverage in major media outlets. Our annual Panamanian Golden Frog Festival drew 6,280 people in 2013 and had a media reach of nearly 500,000. Two exhibits, the Fabulous Frogs of Panama in Panama City and another at the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center are visited by 200,000 Panamanians annually. More than 35,000 schoolchildren and 300 teachers participate annually in amphibian-related education programs.  Nearly 300 volunteers have supported the project since 2009.

School kids hop to it & save frogs!

IMG_1110Jumping from the “Lemur Frog Leap” station to the “Robber Frog Romp”, bouncing between the “Harlequin Frog Hop” to “Toad Mountain Tiddlywinks” and topping the afternoon off with “Golden Frog Gallop” sack races, elementary students at the American School of The Hague (ASH) helped give amphibian research a leg-up last week and made conservation fun! Each student who participated in the Hop To It! event donated 5 Euros to Panama’s Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project. With their contribution, young conservationists earned a ticket into the frog-themed field day where they could move between six stations that focused on moving their bodies like frogs.

IMG_1103Students in grades 1-4 at ASH have been celebrating the “Year of the Frog” in their science lab during the 2013-14 school year. In science class, students learned about what makes amphibians unique and fragile critters. Young scientists then invited their families to attend an interactive exhibit where they could explore hands-on activities, view photographs of rainforest frogs, try to match calls of frogs to their makers, as well as share their knowledge of amphibians with their parents. The conservation section of the exhibit focused on the international epidemic of chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) that is negatively impacting amphibian populations worldwide. Students at ASH come from 74 different countries and many kids were surprised to hear that frogs from the canals of The Netherlands to waterways in their home countries are all getting sick from this same mysterious fungus.

Last Wednesday, as students happily hopped their way to an 830 Euro ($1123.00) contribution towards research that will help to fight the devastating impacts of chytrid, one 4th grader summed it up “Kids like frogs and we want them to stick around. If we need to hop a little to help them, we’ll do it!”

by Simone Welch, teacher and former volunteer with the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project.

Long Live the Frog: The 2013 Golden Frog Festival

THE HIGHLIGHTS
Participants: 6280
Volunteers: 44
School Groups: 34 (approx. 1000 kids)
Events: 9
Fliers Distributed: 1450
Frog Cookies Eaten: 100

MEDIA COVERAGE
Radio/TV Spots: 5
News Articles: 4
Media Websites: 4

The third annual Golden Frog Festival, consisting of events throughout Panama, united locals and visitors from around the world in a single mission: celebrating and conserving Panama’s amphibian treasures.

2013 Golden Frog Day Parade  in El Valle

2013 Golden Frog Day Parade in El Valle

The festival began on Sunday, August 11 at the Smithsonian’s Punta Culebra Nature Center, where staff members from the Gamboa Amphibian Rescue Center led discussions and animal demonstrations for visitors of all ages. Children competed to make the best frog sculpture on the center’s sandy beach, then moved to decorating their own golden frog masks. Visitors learned about the crisis facing the country’s amphibian populations—from the deadly fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) to habitat loss—and of different ways to help preserve these valuable species. It was a fun-filled day for all ages.

Frog sandcastle at Punta Culebra

Frog sandcastle at Punta Culebra Photo: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute

The Smithsonian’s Tropical Research Institute (STRI) hosted several mid-week events in both English and Spanish. In STRI’s weekly “Tupper Talk,” Dr. Myra Hughey spoke on her cutting-edge research in how understanding the bacterial components of a frog’s skin can help elucidate ways to combat Bd infection. Hughey’s lecture targeted the scientific community, while the following day a public forum offered visitors of all backgrounds and ages the chance to hear from Dr. Roberto Ibanez, one of the chief scientists at the Panamanian Amphibian Rescue and Conservation (PARC) project; Lucrecia Arosemena, whose tireless efforts helped prompt the Panamanian legislature to recognize August 14, 2010, as the first national Golden Frog Day; and Dr. Justin Touchon, who humorously explored a number of interesting and little known facts about frogs. (For example, until his talk, I had no idea that some female frogs select their mates based on the complexity of their calls—or that those complex calls that woo the most females also make males more vulnerable to predators such as bats.)

GFD&parkour

In continued efforts to build public involvement, STRI and PARC personnel also spoke at La Rana Dorada pub in Casco Viejo, where Dr. Richard Cooke enthralled many casual passersby with his tales of the psychotropic properties of frogs and in a talk titled “It’s not easy being green,” Angie Estrada offered a moving plea for conservation and action. These talks proved so inspiring that by evening’s end, several audience members had decided to start volunteering with PARC.

Edgardo Griffith presenting a lesson on frog conservation in El Valle schools

Edgardo Griffith presenting a lesson on frog conservation in El Valle schools

Finally, the week wrapped up with events for schoolchildren and families at both Gamboa’s Summit Zoo and the El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center. Throughout the weekend, visitors saw the frogs—including several golden frogs successfully hatched in captivity, learned about the valuable contributions amphibians make to the Panamanian ecosystem, and discovered how to help conserve these animals. In El Valle, the local golden frog parade featured floats and costumes galore—one child dressed as a golden frog princess; another, a morphologically accurate tadpole. After learning that golden frogs use semaphore, a form of hand gestures, for communication, some children compiled a dance to mimic their movements. As dusk fell in the mountains that night, I heard one shimmying teenage girl explain to another, “If I were a golden frog, this is how I’d call my mate.” Her hands circled her torso, then she raised her palms to the sky. From a distance, she probably looked like any teenager bouncing to the beat of her favorite song. But I was close enough to hear her explain, “And this is how I’d protect my territory,” and I knew this dance stemmed not from the idle energy of a teenager on holiday, but from an engagement that just might lead to action.

Kids on the Golden Frog Float on the 2013 Golden Frog Day Parade

Kids on the Golden Frog Float on the 2013 Golden Frog Day Parade

Somewhere nearby a woman exclaimed, “This year’s festival was amazing! Next year’s will be even better!” With your help, it will. If you’d like to be involved as a volunteer for amphibian rescue, please contact us. See you in 2014!

-Elizabeth Wade, Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project Volunteer

Golden Frog ATVs!

Third Annual Golden Frog Day Calendar of Activities (2013)

Golden Frog Day
11 August
PUNTA CULEBRA NATURE CENTER Amador Causeway
Times: 10:00 AM a 6:00 PM
Frog exhibit and fun activities for kids.
Contact: Puntaculebra@si.edu 212-8793

14 August
EARL S. TUPPER CONFERENCE CENTER, SMITHSONIAN TROPICAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE Ancon
Time: 6:00 pm
PUBLIC FORUM. Presentations by Dr. Roberto Ibañez, Dr Justin Touchon and Lucrecia Arosemena.
Contact: FlorezNA@si.edu

15 August
La RANA DORADA PUB, Casco Viejo
Time: 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
“Science and Beer” conversation with amphibian experts: Dr. Richard Cooke and Angie Estrada
Contact: FlorezNA@si.edu

16 August
SUMMIT MUNICIPAL PARK
Come to Summit with your friends and help to save frogs!
Time: 10:00 AM a 12:00 PM and 1:00 a 3:00 PM
Contact: angiestrada@gmail.com , 232-4850/232-4854

Saturday 17 August
EL VALLE DE ANTON
Time: 11:00 AM
“Golden Frog Parade ”
Parade participants please meet opposite the church. Participants should dress festively, inspired by frogs.
Contact: sentimientovallero@gmail.com

17 & 18 August
EL VALLE DE ANTON
El Níspero Zoo – El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center (EVACC)

Times: Saturday: 12:30 – 4:30 PM. Sunday: 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Educational activities and exhibit of the amphibian conservation center and golden frogs.

JOIN US TO CONSERVE OUR NATURAL HERITAGE

Celebrate Golden Frog Day (English) from Melissa Mak on Vimeo.

Organizers: Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Summit Municipal Park, El Valle Amphibian Conservation Center, Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project, La Rana Dorada Pub, APRADAP, FUNDECO, Cámara de Turismo de El Valle de Anton and Corregiduría de El Valle de Anton.

Cantus Panamá choral concert

Cantus Panama 2013

For those in Panama City -This is a reminder about the Cantus Panamá choral concert coming this June 8 and 9!

Please join us for our “Songs for Nature” concert. The concert will be presented on Saturday, June 8 at 4:00 p.m. and Sunday, June 9 at 2:00 p.m. at the Visitors Center of the Biodiversity Museum. If you have never been there before there are directions included below. The price for each concert is $5.00 and the tickets can be purchased at the door.

Directions: Go to the road leading to the Amador Causeway. A short while after passing the Figali Convention Center, but just before the Biodiversity Museum, there will be a traffic circle between the street lanes. The circle has a monument in the middle of it. At the traffic circle turn right. The Biodiversity Museum Visitors Center is the first building on the left. Parking is on the right and on the street.

Proceeds from these concerts will be donated to the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project – a project to save Panama’s incredible frogs and salamanders.

Please mark your calendars and tell all of your friends about this exciting event! We look forward to seeing you at the concert!

Save the Frog Day Celebrations – Panama

Save the Frog Day Celebrations at the Summit Municipal Park, Panama

Save the Frog Day Celebrations at the Summit Municipal Park, Panama

This years’ celebration of ‘Save the Frog Day’ was held at Summit Municipal Park on April 27,2013 where the Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project is currently housed. A booth was decorated with balloons, a golden frog piñata (for donations) and a large banner to draw the families and children who frequent the park on weekends. This Saturday was no exception. We estimated that approximately 85 children shared in the activities. We also received 165 signatures on our Save the Frog Day sign up poster.

All throughout the day we had a steady stream of inquisitive children anxious to paint frog masks and were rewarded for their efforts with frog-shaped chocolates and stickers. There were those who would like to paint more if their parents hadn’t reminded then that there were lots of other things to see and do yet that day!

For the more inquisitive and brave visitors there were containers filled with some of the frogs’ favorite snacks. There were extra- large cockroaches, crickets and meal worms and their parents the beetles. We would have to say some of our guests weren’t as excited about those. Some were a bit horrified from the looks on their faces, yet were understanding when we explained that these were very nutritious and necessary to keep them healthy.

A large poster displayed the wide variety of shapes, colors and sizes of frogs live here in Panama. We are excited and looking forward to next year when we will be settled into our new facility in Gamboa, where everyone will be able to appreciate the beauty and wonder of the precious creatures we are celebrating and fighting to preserve. Until next year, everyone keep up the good work!

-Amphibian Rescue Project Volunteer – Dedra A. Kirby-