August 1- Exploring Gamboa

Last Sunday, through a fortuitous combination of some interns having weekends off, project leaders being out of town, and requesting days off, a big group of interns had the chance to do some exploring in Gamboa.  Gamboa is a half hour boat ride from BCI, and has our docks, Smithsonian facilities, and housing of STRI employees and some canal workers.  We've been to the town by the docks before, but this time we explored further, around the (very fancy) Gamboa resort.  It was a stormy morning, which made for some very cool views!  There were many parrot sightings as we walked up the road.

After I successfully sent out several emails in Spanish (a feat of which I am quite proud), we were able to get a reservation to tour the Asociación Panamericana para la Conservación's Centro de Vida Silvestre, an incredible wildlife rescue and rehabilitation facility.  It was an fantastic experience!  The center is run by Néstor Correa and his wife Yischel, along with a very dedicated team of scientists and volunteers.  Many of the animals currently at the center were orphaned by poachers, being struck by cars, or other tragedies.  Several were injured and are currently being rehabilitated.  When possible, the center rehabilitates animals and releases them back into the wild.  In cases where they can't (often when the animal was orphaned young and was not able to learn necessary survival skills from their mother), the animal is sent to a zoo to participate in a Species Survival Plan (SSP)-managed  captive conservation breeding programs.  We had the chance to pet a porcupine and an anteater, watch an adorably hyperactive baby kinkajou, watch a capybara swim, go into the sloth exhibit, and see a jaguar!  The jaguar's name is Fiona, and she's almost two years old.  She was rescued at two weeks old, after poachers killed her mother and severely injured her.  She can't be released back into the wild due to being orphaned so young and due to her comfort around humans (who she sees as providers of food and playtime), so she'll be headed to a zoo in Florida soon to join the jaguar SSP breeding program.  Since she was born in the wild, her genetics will be incredibly valuable for maintaining diversity.  The Smithsonian wrote a very cool article about her and the struggle to protect Panama's jaguars here.

After visiting the wildlife center, we met up with three of our friends- two STRI interns who live in Gamboa, and a STRI volunteer from Panama City.  We went back to the gorgeous Gamboa Rainforest Resort, and went to their restaurant's Sunday brunch.  The food was incredible, and the view was fantastic!  In the afternoon, we hung out at the resort's gorgeous pool.  It was a really great day.  As the summer winds down and interns start to leave the island, I've been reflecting on how lucky I am to have lived and worked with such an incredible group of people this summer!