A crocodile measuring several meters long, which had frightened the residents of El Espino, Cocle Province, was captured by a group of people when they discovered this reptile was the cause of the loss of their cows and dogs. Ranchers have been losing livestock from pastures located near the Rio Grande for the past several weeks. Residents at first thought it was the work of cattle rustlers, however the culprit turned out to be the reptile. This alarmed the community, because besides the loss of animals, residents in the area feared one of them might be next, because many people in the area use this river as a route to travel. The crocodile was captured on Thursday afternoon and the animal was taken to the community of El Espino where it eventually died from the injuries it received when being captured. It was learned there may be many more lizards in the river, and residents called upon ANAM to relocate them to more remote areas. (El Siglo)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - The following account was posted to the "Zonelink" Yahoo email group today;

• My friend Karen was bitten a few days ago by a small fer-de-lance snake up by Cerro Azul. Here's what happened in her own words. (Maggie is their Collie dog).
  
  
• ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
  
• So, it all began with a ride in the Jeep down to the Romeo & Juliet falls. We wanted to show our friends from Seattle the best of what Cerro Azul has to offer. But, the dry season hasn't been quite so dry up in the hills, and we quickly discovered that the Jeep was sliding on the red clay, there being no traction, and the road only got steeper, sooooo, we abandoned the car and decided to walk in. We made it in only 25 mins or so, took some pictures, Steven had a swim and began our ascent out. I being the most out of shape, okay, fat, went first! As I crossed a small stream, I stepped on a flat paving rock, and felt the bite of the snake that I had tread on. He was small, about 12-14 inches, and totally camouflaged. Picture included. I saw that notorious diamond pattern, thought, "oh shit", told my 3 companions I had been bitten, told Steven to take a picture of it, and continued climbing out.
  
  
• I knew it may hit me quickly, and was not sure a car could get down to me, so thought it best to get as far up the hill as I could. In all honesty, I thought it was a pseudo, as there was no pain or swelling. We all quickly headed up the hill, but, it was very steep and warm, and I wasn't doing too well. The boys abandoned me to get back to the car, leaving me with my girlfriend. I finally had to sit down, feeling winded and slightly nauseated. And then a car came. All the family jumped out, asked for the woman who had been bitten, I raised my hand, they turned the car around and gave us, including Maggie (not sure they wanted to bring Maggie with them, but, I wasn't leaving her in the jungle, with snakes!!) a ride up to our car. The boys had lowered the air pressure in the tires, and we zoomed out, sliding all over the place. Twice into the ditch, but Steven was determined to get me out of there, and we made it.
  
  
• We went to see the resident vet, who said, yip, looks like a fer-de-Lance, get her down the hill to a hospital. Without stopping at the house to get our things, and just stopping for 30 secs. to leave Maggie with friends on the hill, we bolted down the road. The vet, or friends, had already called and the gate was open, police were waiting at the corner to escort us down the hill, and we made it to Paitilla Hospital in record time. Including a 60 second stop at the gas station to put air back into the tires, it was the best of Indy!!
  
  
• Steven had called ahead, and 3 doctors plus the ER doc from the Darien, were waiting for us in the emergency room with the anti-venom. I did fine on the way down the hill, recovering from the hike up, the foot not swelling, bleeding or too painful. So I still wasn't too sure, but the folks in the ER took one look at the picture, and said "Yep". Then they drew my blood, and already my coagulation studies were like someone on a double-dose of coumadin!! Totally out of whack. I was immediately given a first dose of anti-venom, and then they waited, for side-effects. None. Nothing. So they proceeded to give me 9 more vials over the next 7 hours while transferring me to ICU to monitor. And then the foot began to swell, but not until that evening! I had double IV's going, heart, pulse-ox, and BP monitors and felt pretty darn well, and lucky, laying in ICU that night. Of course, you can't sleep there, but I was pretty much fine. But my blood work was amazing. As an ex-Medical Technologist, I was agog at my own labs. The hematologist seemed to enjoy telling me what my values were, as I understood.
  
  
• The next day they transferred me to a private room, removing all the tubes and wires, and allowing my system to revert back to normal. My labs are now basically normal, although I used up half of my supply of platelets, and my hematocrit dropped within 12 hours from a high of 46% to a border-line anemic value of 29%. But I feel pretty darn good, considering, and have a hell of a story to tell. So I am home now, hopping around the condo on 1 leg, and using Sally's walker. I should be back to normal soon as the swelling goes down and I can bend my ankle. Steven fortunately has been here with me through all of this, a great help, but I had no idea how worried he was. When you go on-line and read up on the Fer-de-Lance, you find that it is one of the most poisonous pit vipers in the world. I had the gods on my side on Tuesday, and possibly a smaller snake than most, who only wanted me off of him, not for dinner! Thanks to all of you who helped, and to the rest of you for you kind thoughts and well wishes.

Wow. Thank God... These people did everything right. They took a photo of the snake to confirm the culprit (which determines the anti venom to use). The went straight to seek medical assistance. They used their cell phones to call ahead to alert the ER that they were on the way in. They moved as quickly as possible in a safe manner, without panicking. Anyway, fer-de-lance snakes are experts at camouflage, and we all should remember we don't have to travel very far to enter "their" territory. Be safe out there, folks...

ScienceDaily (Dec. 9, 2009) — Despite their ability to fly, tropical birds waited until the formation of the land bridge between North and South America to move northward, according to a University of British Columbia study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "While many North American birds simply flew across the marine barriers that once separated the continents, tropical birds, especially those in Amazon forest regions, began colonization of North America almost entirely after the completion of the land bridge," says lead author Jason Weir, who conducted the study as part of his PhD at UBC. "This study is the most extensive evidence to date that shows the land bridge playing a key role in the interchange of bird species between North and South America and the abundant biodiversity in the tropical regions," says Weir, now a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Chicago. The Isthmus of Panamaland bridge was completed between three and four million years ago, and today consists of the country of Panama. It is believed to have initiated the Great American Biotic Interchange, bringing mammals that evolved uniquely in South America during its "island isolation" -- the armadillo, opossum and porcupine -- to North America.

Fossil records have shown that mammalian species also travelled across the land bridge from North to South America, increasing biodiversity in the tropical regions. "But a lack of bird fossils has made it difficult to determine if the land bridge was equally instrumental in the interchange of avian species," says Weir. By analyzing the DNA of 457 bird species on either side of the land bridge, Weir and colleagues at UBC and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama were able to reconstruct a "family tree" of species closely related to one another and revealed a "hidden chapter" in the impact of the land bridge to biodiversity. They found a dramatic increase in the rates of interchange after the land bridge completion.

"This is a bit surprising," says co-author Dolph Schluter, UBC zoology professor and Canada Research Chair in Evolutionary Biology. "Couldn't the birds have flown across the gap? Some did, but most tropical birds waited for the land crossing." The researchers believe the inability of many tropical birds to fly long distances across open water -- some are reluctant even to cross rivers as narrow as 200 metres -- may have contributed to the few north-bound movements prior to the land bridge completion.

By LiveScience Staff - Every year, millions of shark fins are sold at Chinese markets to satisfy the demand for shark fin soup, a dish considered a delicacy, but it has been impossible to pinpoint which sharks from which regions are most threatened by this trade. Now DNA research has traced shark fins from the burgeoning Hong Kong market all the way back to the sharks' geographic origin. The scientists found that in some cases fins from scalloped hammerhead sharks came from endangered populations thousands of miles away. The findings highlight the need to better protect these sharks from international trade, the researchers say. About 73 million sharks are killed for this trade each year, of which 1-3 million are hammerheads, according to Ellen Pikitch a professor of marine science at Stony Brook University in New York. These sharks are particularly prized for their large fin size, and just 1 kg (2.2 lbs) can sell for about $120. "This trade has operated for years and years under the cover of darkness," Demian Chapman, a researcher at the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University, said in a statement. "Our work shows that the scalloped hammerhead fin trade is sourced from all over the globe and so must be globally tracked and managed." (more)

La Critica - A strange fish with a nose, teeth and legs instead of fins surprised fishermen in Puerto Pedregal, in Panama's Chiriquí province. The fish was pulled from a depth of more than 150 meters (almost 500 feet) next to Isla Ladrones. Camilo Marciaga, who has the odd catch in a refrigerator, explained that he was fishing on a boat named the Yoselyn and when they pulled in their nets from the depths of the Pacific ocean they found a fish that none of them had ever seen before. Today they expect the arrival of some marine biologists who will come to examine the aquatic vertebrate. Another experienced fisherman said the fish might be a kind of shark.

La Prensa PANAMA CITY, (Xinhua). -The government's Aquatic Resources Authority of Panama (ARAP) today reported the seizure of 6,889 pounds of shark fins during a raid at the International Pier in Vacamonte on Panama's Pacific coast. The agency did not if any arrests were made during this raid, but they did say they opened a file that could lead to sanctions against the boat. The practice of cutting off a shark's fins and then throwing the rest of the carcass into the sea unused is known as "finning." The ARAP also said the practice of cutting off a shark's cartilage or "fins" is restricted in the country by a law protecting sharks, noting the legislation prohibits the practice of shark finning in Panamanian waters and establishes other provisions of protection for the species. The National Environmental Authority of Panama recently announced the initiation of a series of studies and plans for the preservation of endangered species in the country such as sea turtles, the harpy eagle, jaguar and amphibians.

By Sabrina Valle in Rio de Janeiro for National Geographic News - "I was in the river and I felt something grabbing my legs," one of the boys told the local television program Telemetro Reporta a few days after the sighting in the Cerro Azul region of Panama City. "We took it out of the water and started throwing rocks and sticks at it. We had never seen anything like that." After beating the creature until they thought it was dead, the teenagers threw it back into the water, returning later to snap photos of the body sprawled on a rock. Their pictures of the dead "alien" posted online quickly earned the creature the nickname "Panama ET." But an autopsy has now revealed that the purported alien was actually a species of sloth that had died and started to decay before the boys' discovery. "Most people know how a dead animal looks like in a dry environment," said André Sena Maia, a veterinarian at Niterói Zoo in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "The body must have got stuck under the water, and the movement of the currents gave [the boys] the false impression that it was alive."

Alien Looks Due to Watery Grave - Panamanian officials recovered the "alien" four days after the teenagers had thrown it back into the creek. A biopsy done at the National Environmental Authority of Panama (ANAM) concluded that the creature was a male Bradypus variegates, also known as a three-toed sloth, a common species in Central and South America. "The sloth had severe signs of trauma on its body, as shown in the necropsy," said Melquiades Ramos, a veterinarian at the ANAM Department of Protected Areas and Wild Lives. "From the state it is shown in the pictures, we can estimate it had been in the water for about two days before being found." The body's unearthly appearance is the normal state for a putrefying animal immersed in water, said Maia, of the Niterói Zoo. That's because water accelerates the loss of fur and gives the dead animal smooth and almost glowing skin, he said. In addition, bacteria decomposing the body created gases that made the organs swell, adding to the creature's extraordinary appearance. After identifying the body, ANAM staff buried the sloth.

By Chris Yee for El Siglo - The animals are being well fed, they confirmed. Staff members from Panama's National Environmental Authority (ANAM) conducted a surprise inspection of the "Circo Renato, Rey de los Payasos" (Renato Circus, King of the Clowns), a Mexican company owned by the Fuentes Gasca brothers, which is currently located on Avenida Ricardo J. Alfaro, also known as the Tumba Muerto. While the two Asian elephants were chained by their legs, they are in good health, reports said. The circus also has five tigers, a goat, seven horses, a zebra, three llamas, three camels and two donkeys, all of which were found to be in perfect condition, according to Melquiades Ramos and José Antonio González, ANAM inspectors. At the time of the inspection the llamas were being fed and all of them had water in their containers. According to inspectors the only abnormality found was an injury one of the zebras had that was caused during travel, but the circus had applied a larvicide to prevent flies from contaminating the wound. The tigers, which were being held in wooden cages, are in good health, they added. In a report issued by the ANAM they noted the floor had sawdust and straw for moisture management, thereby facilitating the cleaning of animal stool and urine. The legal representatives of the company Fuentes Gasca, Emilio Moreno - on an international level - and Gladys Domínguez - in Panama - claimed to have all of their documents in order. The Renato Circus is one of thirty owned by the Fuentes Gasca Brothers in the world and they will be in Panama for three months. Later they will move to Costa Rica. This is the second generation of the Gasca brothers.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - My wife's friend has Beagle puppies for sale and I promised I would help spread the word. If you're interested call 391-9576 or 6437-1810.

BY TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA for the Miami Herald - Meet the harpy eagle chick, the newest resident of Miami Metrozoo. The chick, which is yet to be named, was born Sept. 22, but because mortality rates are so high for baby eagles, the zoo had to wait 30 days before announcing its birth. "I've been sitting here for 30 days saying îPlease God let it live, please God let it live,''' said Metrozoo spokesman Ron Magill. Miami Metrozoo is only the second zoo in the United States to hatch a harpy eagle egg. The first was hatched in 1992 at the San Diego Zoo, which is where the chick's parents used to live before being loaned to Miami seven years ago. At first the two adult harpy eagles weren't exactly what you'd call lovebirds. "People think, îThey're a male and female, put them together and they're going to have babies,'' Magill said. "But that couldn't be further from the truth.'' Metrozoo zookeepers found private quarters for the two birds and kept their surroundings quiet, but the eagles spent six years together without producing any fertile eggs. The breakthrough came when the zoo opened a new exhibit and moved the birds to a more exposed section. Despite the heavy foot traffic and the hordes of human onlookers, the romance began to flourish. "It's like Club Med for eagles over there,'' Magill said. (more)

Source - Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute - A workshop at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama has dramatically improved the ability of conservationists and regulatory agencies to monitor the spread of chytridiomycosis—one of the deadliest frog diseases on Earth. Caused by the chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, this disease is probably responsible for the extinction of nearly 100 frog species since the 1970s. During the past decade, the epidemic swept from the highlands of Costa Rica through western Panama. It is now moving toward eastern Panama from Colombia. "The fungus spreads so rapidly because humans ship nearly 100 million amphibians around the world each year, mainly for food and pets, with virtually no disease testing," said Kerry Kriger, executive director of the U.S. non-profit, Save The Frogs! and course instructor with Sandra Victoria Flechas from Universidad de los Andes in Colombia. This hands-on course trained 22 scientists on the frontlines to use a genetic technique called quantitative polymerase chain reaction, PCR, which detects even single fungal spores. "We've probably just doubled the number of people in the world who know how to use this method to detect the pathogen," said Kriger. "The beauty of PCR is that you don't have to kill the frog or take a skin sample to test for the disease." (more)

See http://www.spaypanama-chiriqui.org/25th.html. This was our final clinic for 2009. Thanks very much to all who participated and contributed, and to those who had their pets sterilized! We will have a short rest and begin anew in 2010! Dottie

By Carina Storrs for Scientific American - Threats to wildlife survival, such as habitat loss and climate change, tend to strike some species harder than others, and the threat of chytrid, a deadly amphibian fungus, appears to be no different. A study published in this month's Ecology Letters finds that rarer species were more likely to disappear, leading to loss of frog biodiversity in Central America. The study compares frog surveys taken at eight different sites in Costa Rica and Panama. Karen Lips, an associate professor of biology at the University of Maryland, College Park, along with Kevin Smith and Jonathan Chase at Washington University in St. Louis, found that the average number of frog species at the eight sites dropped from 45 to 23 after the appearance of the chytrid fungus. Rare species that were only present at one or a few of the sites were disproportionately wiped out, making up more than half of the species lost. "All species can get infected [but] the point is that not everything completely disappears," says Lips, who conducted the frog surveys that were used in the study. Although abundant species enjoy safety in numbers, factors other than abundance could help protect certain frogs after the deadly skin fungus hits their homes. Terrestrial species fared better than frogs living in wet habitats, where the fungus thrives. In addition, certain genes or differences in skin chemistry may allow some species to be less susceptible to chytrid, Lips says. Even with these advantages, frogs still die from chytrid, just at slower rates. Once the fungus arrives at a site, it remains in the soil and never really goes away. "I think, in time, species will continue to go extinct," she says.

By Zenaida Vasquez in Los Santos for La Critica - Turtle eggs seized - 1,318 A turtle eggs were seized by the Aquatic Resources Authority of Panama (ARAP), in the Playa Cambutal of Tonosí, in the province of Los Santos. The seizures came in two operations, in which three men were involved, who must now face criminal proceedings for environmental crimes. Domingo Espino, the Director of the ARAP in the province of Los Santos, explained that the 1,318 eggs had been removed from their nests for more than five days, which is why they were no longer viable and could not be returned.

Editor's Comment: All along Panama's beaches on both coasts there are sites and locations where sea turtles nest and lay their eggs every year. These are all protected under environmentalist laws, but there are always people who raid these nests for economic gain. I'm sure there's some culture in the world that things these eggs will make you smarter or taller or sexier or some other such damn thing - so they fetch a premium.

By Paulo R. Poian - Inexplicata - The Journal of Hispanic Ufology - The animal was already dead and decomposing, and the story was concocted by teenagers. The case was debunked last week by members of Brazil's Equipo UFO. The story became widespread last Thursday, with a subject initially identified with Panama's location of Cerro Azul, involving the alleged death of a creature stoned to death by four adolescents near a lake. The unidentified creature was described as an alien, as if this classification offered an explanation. According to Panamanian papers, the youngsters were frightened by its appearance and fearful of being attacked, stoned it to death and then left it in a lake. The worst aspect of the story is that a so-called wildlife expert said that the case was under investigation and that the creature had very odd characteristics. Events of this type, which fall like parachutes (sic) into the hands of ufologists, have given rise to a new specific area of study in ufology, which will be very useful, employed and treasured: exozoology, that is to say, the study of supposedly alien animals. In this Cerro Azul incident, all that was needed was a comparison of images between the alleged ET and the fauna in the region in question. Observe the creature's mammaries, muzzle, and the arrangement and disposition of the legs. Yes , dear readers. It is a Preguiza (sloth), more commonly known as bicho preguiza, with a habitat that ranges from Central America to Brazil in six different species. It is a mammal and a member of the families Bradypodidae (three-fingered) and Megalonychidae (two-fingered). The absence of fur and the clearly distended abdomen show that the creature was in an advanced stage of putrefaction, which completely blows away not only the story -- concocted by the teenagers and swallowed whole by the media -- but any extraterrestrial hypothesis. At most, a second hypothesis would involve the possibility of a fetal Preguiza, but judging from the images circulated, it appears to be too large for a fetus, unless the images were retouched and enlarged to obtain the desired effect.

CERRO AZUL, Panama (CANAL 4/CNN) - A strange find in the northern part of Panama city has startled the small community of Cerro Azul. Some say it's an alien and others say it's an animal. Last Saturday, four teenagers were playing around a creek when they spotted the unidentifiable creature. One of the teens told Canal 4 out of Panama that the creature came towards them. The teens got scared and started throwing rocks and sticks at it, killing it. They threw the creature into the water and ran away but later went back and took photos of it. Zoologists in Panama say they're not sure what it is, but it appears to be a dead animal fetus.

By Carol Bengle Gilbert for associatedcontent.com - Mail Online reported Thursday the emergence of a creature similar in appearance to 2008's Montauk Monster from a cave in Cerro Azul, Panama. The Montauk Monster kin allegedly approached a group of teens who became frantic when it allegedly approached them by climbing over rocks. The teens threw stones at the Montauk Monster kin before beating the creature to death with sticks, then tossed its carcass onto rocks in a lake, later coming back to take photos. In the UK, some tabloids are referring to this Montauk Monster kin as Gollum and describing its appearance as humanoid. Panama's National Environment Authority is investigating the carcass, with one zoologist speculating that it may be a mutated sloth. A similar carcass found in Costa Rica in 1996 (before the term Montauk Monster was coined) was positively identified as a sloth. If this Montauk Monster kin is determined to be a mutated, hairless sloth, will the Montauk Monster story finally be laid to rest? Not if the slew of Chupacabra sightings is any indication. Chupacabra sightings have occurred repeatedly over the past few years in Texas, and despite the positive identification of at least one as Mexican wolf/coyote mix, people spotting nearly identical creatures cling to the myth of the chupacabra. Do the Chupacabra and the Montauk Monster fill some deep need within the human psyche? According to mythencyclopedia, monsters represent "everything that is fearful about the natural world and the darker corners of human nature." All monsters share two common features: not being human and hostility to humans. In mythology, the hero or heroine conquers the monster to prove his own worth.

By Luis Carlos Rodriguez and Zelideth Cortez for La Critica - The strange creature that caused alarm among the residents of Rancho Café, located along the road that leads to Cerro Azul, which at different times was thought to be either an extraterrestrial or even something like the greedy "Golum" character from the "Lord Of The Rings" is most likely to be some kind of an animal with a mutation. The creature was first spotted on Saturday by four kids who were swimming in the area of Charco Piña, was later found dead by residents of the area. The body of the animal was intact, but its head had been eaten by buzzards and marine animals. Zoologist Jacobo Arauz thinks the animal might be a sloth with a mutation or some other kind of animal with an abnormality. (Editor's Comment: Over the weekend this animal scared some kids who were playing by the stream - it was alive and they said it looked like an alien. The Melo's Chicken Farms are upstream, so who knows what's in that water. Anyway, that's one for the X-Files in Panama.)

MZI.com - A Solomon Islands environmentalist says the government is about to export another batch of live dolphins, this time to Panama. An export trade in live dolphins has been ongoing since a High Court ruling two and a half years ago overturned its 2003 ban by the Government. Wildlife organisations have attacked the Government’s policy to allow the capture and export of up to 100 bottlenose dolphins a year on the basis that the animals do not adapt to life in captivity. Lawrence Makili of Earth Island Institute says 30 dolphins are being held in pens and 18 are bound for Panama. “We were trying to verify the facts of when they were going to go out: no, you can’t. Because in this country in Solomon Islands it is very difficult to find any information with regards to that sort of issue, when you have everybody in the ministries that are dealing with these issues collaborating with their bosses. There’s nothing as public information.” Lawrence Makili of Earth Island Institute.

By Heidi Blake for the Telegraph - Ninety-five years since the USS Ancon became the first steamship to make the 50-mile passage in August 1914, the project to widen the canal has become essential to keep trade flowing through the waterway. It will increase the cargo capacity of the Panamanian route to roughly 600m tons a year, compared 309.6 million tons in 2008. British shipping experts have praised the development as a “major advance”. “This project is absolutely massive,” said Mark Page of Drewry Shipping Consultants in London. “It will be the biggest infrastructure development that the world has seen since the Panama canal was originally built, and it will have the greatest impact of in terms of the routing of trade by the sea that we have seen in the past hundred years.” But some gave warning that rising toll prices designed to cover the cost of the project could deter British companies from using the route. The expansion, which needs 5,000 workers, is due for completion in 2014 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the original development – a gargantuan feat of engineering which cost more than £600m and claimed the lives of 25,000 workers over 10 years. A consortium led by Impreglio, an Italian company, and Sacyr Vallehermoso, which is Spanish, has been awarded a $3.13bn contract to build two new sets of locks on the Pacific and Atlantic sides of the Canal. The new locks will be 1,400ft long and 180ft wide to allow greater capacity than the current set, which are just 1,050 in length and 110ft across. New catch basins will recycle 60 per cent of the water used to fill the locks, in an attempt to improve the environmental credentials of the current system, which flushes it all out to sea. (more)

By Alcibiades Cortez for La Prensa - Residents of the village of Agua Buena, Los Santos, are concerned about the strange deaths of animals in areas near their community last week. The same situation happened in the community of Bombacho, in the Llano de Piedres de Macaracas. Cats, chickens, ducks, dogs and vultures all were either found lifeless or sick and dying in at least two communities in the province of Los Santos, for no apparent reason. The villagers reported the animals died in about three hours, with symptoms such as drooling, apparent damage to the nervous system, loss of balance and convulsions. They are concerned, and they have been speculating over the possible causes for this outbreak. FEARS - Jorge Frias, a resident of the community of Bombacho, says the residents there are concerned because they do not know what is killing the animals. Rodolfo Saez, another neighbor, said this is a situation they have never seen before. According to his testimony, the animals were fine and then from one moment to the next they "began to vomit foam and then fell over dead," he said. Sáez noted he saw some vultures flying around, and then they suddenly plunged to the ground, lifeless. (more)

Published in La Prensa of Honduras - The main road of the city was not large enough to hold the thousands of demonstrators who shouted slogans, sang, and showed their support for what's being called the "transition government" of Honduras. Thousands of people arrived and the concentration completely filled the Avenue of the Los Andes neighborhood in the industrial capital of Honduras. The Hondurans want to be heard in the world, so that people don't only focus on the claims of the former president Manuel Zelaya, but rather investigate the reasons why he was removed from power. "OAS and UN, You Have Already Listened To Zelaya - Now Listen To The People" read several placards while unanimously the people shouted "Mel, Get Out!" The demonstrators also completely rejected the intervention of the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez. Among prayers calling for peace in Honduras, the participants waved white handkerchiefs and shouted "Viva Honduras!" Representatives from different social sectors said they support the transition government and asked the world to accept what has happened in the country, and they simply say the constitution has been respected in order to continue as a democracy. (End of Article)

It's Becoming More Clear To Me Every Day: About the only people who don't support this action are "Mel" Zelaya, Hugo Chavez, and Fidel Castro. Sooner or later the leaders of the world will wake up and realize they completely and totally missed the boat on this one when they "condemned" the supposed "coup" in Honduras. Apparently, there was no coup. And, apparently the transition government in Honduras will remain in place until they can hold another election, which should happen relatively soon. Both the Supreme Court and the Legislative Branch in Honduras voted to remove Manuel Zelaya from power - so what the hell else do you want? The wacko left-wingers are going nuts (as expected) but screw those guys. Again, this was a patriotic action to defend democracy in Honduras. Period. I just wish the people of Venezuela had the same will to throw out Hugo Chavez. Unfortunately, that guy will most remain in power until he dies - he'll never give it up in an orderly and democratic fashion. No way.

Copyright 2009 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Received today via email: "Hi Don, Here are a few new photos of the Great Dane pups that I mentioned last week… They are very adorable, and against my better judgement have me thinking of getting another. The puppies will be available to take home starting from the 7th of July. The attached photos were taken when the pups were 4 weeks old. They are purebred Great Danes and while the puppies do not have papers, both of their parents are registered. All 11 of the puppies are Merle colored and are available for 600 USD for each. Please call Jesse 6612-3710 for details. For those who don’t know much about the breed, Great Danes are best known for their giant size and gentle personality. Adult males generally grow to weigh between 130-160 lbs and females are slightly smaller with an average adult weight of 100-130 lbs. In the past, Great Danes were used to hunt wild boar and guard the manor, though nowadays they are used mostly as companion pets. The Great Dane's large and imposing appearance belies its friendly nature; the breed is often referred to as the gentle giants. Great Danes are generally well-disposed toward other dogs, other non-canine pets and humans. Great Danes can be protective and make good guard dogs. Thanks, Lucy"

Copyright 2009 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

By Jamuna Burry for Panama-Guide.com - Spay the Strays held a spay and neuter clinic in Gorgona last Sunday, June 21. This was done in conjunction with Spay Panama, who brought in 9 vets and 11 assistants, all who were volunteers. Spay Panama trains vets and vet technicians in on-field spay and neuter techniques. Many of the volunteers had travelled from the United States to learn. For these folk it certainly is not a vacation, since on Saturday they operated on 89 animals in La Hermita, packed up and hauled all their equipment to Gorgona - set up, and sterilized 99 more dogs and cats on Sunday. The volunteers sleep in tents and on cement floors with limited facilities during the course of the events. Their unmatched dedication is met by local Spay the Stray expat volunteers who work with Spay Panama as a team in an attempt to control the population of unwanted animals in our local area.

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Copyright 2009 by Jamuna Burry for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Received today via email: "Hello Don, My husband talked to you yesterday and said to send you pictures and info on the puppies. The puppies are purebred australian shepherds, the father has champion bloodlines and I have copies of his family tree. They are registered in the U.S. but I have not registered them here. The puppies will be 10 weeks old June 14th, they are all females and two are of show quality, the one with the white face and two blue eyes has pink on her nose and can't be in shows, but could participate in agility and frisbee shows which the dogs are known for being number one. She has a very mild mannered personality and loves to be with someone. The black and white puppy has hazel eyes and has a very sweet disposition, the blue merle has one blue eye and one hazel eye and is a little frisky. She likes to nip at your ankles which the shepherds are known for and I haven't been able to break her of that yet, still working on this. (more)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Well, it's nice to see serial scam and fraud artist Rodney Spiller running around like a scared little monkey after I published today. As usual, you shine a spotlight on his illegal activities and he runs like hell. If you do a "whois" pull for his Paroco Trading Systems website, you'll see that it now says "No match for "paroco.com" in the registrar database." and ">>> Last update of whois database: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:04:51 UTC <<<" No worries, that's what screenshots, cache, and the way back machine are for, Rodney. Anyway, since he's trying so hard to make this information go away, allow me to try a little harder to document what was there before he started reacting to my article. Let's see; here's one that's historical, and a little older than the information I published this morning. (more)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Here's another one from "grandma Winner." My mom sends me this kind of stuff all the time, and I think this one is absolutely hilarious. The best part of this video are the reactions from the people in the car... Hilarious.

Copyright 2009 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

By Richard Kongable for Panama-Guide.com - It was 4:30 a.m. on a cool morning in Cuesta de Piedra, in the Chiriqui province of the Republic of Panama, when I woke up to hear the 3 dogs barking. Two dogs sleep outside on the back porch (enclosed by steel bars), with another inside. Since they bark at chickens, the full moon, frogs, people walking down the road and the various strays that come by to eat their food, I waited a minute for the barking to stop but it continued. When I went to the kitchen to see what was going on, I noticed the dogs were outside the porch looking in, which was very odd. In the dim yellow bug-light, I saw something in the middle of the porch that looked like a rope or maybe my dark Crocs but didn't remember leaving them outside. Once I shined a flashlight on it through the French doors, I realized that there was a 3-4' snake laying there in a S-shaped configuration, flicking its tail like a rattlesnake. I could see the pattern on it's skin and the shape of the pit viper head clearly, along with the yellow coloration under the mouth. (more)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - Received today via email: "Hi Don: I am an avid reader of Panama Guide. I know this probably sounds like a long shot, but... please! Any help you can provide, by getting the word out, would be so much appreciated. Two days ago, around noon, our dog was taken. We have eyewitnesses to the fact that a red pickup, government issue, pulled in front of the house and that was the last our dog was seen. Now, just to put it in perspective, we live in a very rural area, down a dead end valley. There are only two vehicles that go further up the valley than us. If ever there is another vehicle up our valley, everyone knows about it... it is that uncommon. This red pickup was up the valley to buy trout from the trout farm up there, and then was seen looping back and lingering at our property. Our neighbors and friends seem unanimous in thinking that the dog was stolen, with the intention of selling him, as he is a purebred Weimaraner. This is where the story is especially sad. While he may look like a puppy, ready for breeding, he is in fact six years old, and we recently had him fixed. He is absolutely of no value in a commercial sense, and I fear for how he will be treated once these crooks figure that out. Anyhow, I realize that this is a bit of a long shot... but we just want to get the word out there. We are putting up posters locally (Volcan area) and are offering a reward. It is certainly possible that if these crooks try to sell the dog, they would try to find a gringo or expat buyer. We are absolutely devastated at the loss of our little guy, Max, and would just ask that anyone with any information send it our way. Thanks, Sean McGrath 6449-8996" Sure, my pleasure. Anything I can do to help. My first step would be to find the pickup truck. What government agency?

Copyright 2009 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.

STRI - Fungus-farming ants have cultivated the same fungal crops for 50 million years. Each young ant queen carries a bit of fungus garden with her when she flies away to mate and establish a new nest. Short breaks in the ants' relationship with the fungus during nest establishment may contribute to the stability of this long-term mutualism, according to a study at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Gamboa, Panama. "We were struck by the paradox that even though the ants transfer a single fungal strain from generation to generation, nests of different ant species, and even genera, throughout Central America share genetically very similar fungi, indicating that there are exchanges going on between fungi from different nests," said Michael Poulsen, who held a Smithsonian short term fellowship while a doctoral student at the University of Copenhagen. "In these experiments, we found that there is a very short window of time--as the young queen establishes a new nest--when partner switching can occur." (more)