I was able to get some amazing footage of a full grown male three toed sloth this afternoon at the Panama Rainforest Discovery Center. From their canopy bird watching tower our guide spotted the sloth in a nearby cashew tree. The black stripe and spot of shorter orange hair on its back indicates that it is a male. Enjoy this great picture and video!
One of the objectives of the Panama travel course was to document more information on the woolly opossum (Caluromys sp.) near Bocas del Toro on Colón Island. Last year, students and faculty spotted and photographed a woolly opossum, which had previously not been known to reside on the island. The opossum was seen mingling in a banana tree. Our first approach was to set out infrared camera traps near banana trees in hope that we could capture an opossum in action. However, the opossums managed to evade the cameras during the first night. For the second night, we decided to move the camera traps to other locations, such as coconut trees, where we though opossums might also be found. While most of the crew tipped a few back, Chris and I decided to take a night hike around the STRI facility. To our surprise, we encountered an opossum in the exact same tree where we had set up the infrared cameras the night before! While the opossum was clearly somewhat nervous of our presence, it allowed us to get close and capture some great pictures. The opossum moved from the inflorescence, around the fruits, and into a branch. We were able to take all the pictures that we wanted and had a difficult time deciding when to leave.
The next day, we reinstalled a camera at the location where we had seen the opossum, but the animal didn’t return. However, we were somehow able to capture an opossum scavenging through banana peels on a different camera that we had set up to capture bats! Check out the video here. These few bits of evidence lead us to believe that this species of opossum probably relies heavily on banana trees. We are currently working to determine which species of woolly opossum we have been observing.
We are currently stationed in Gamboa, a small town in central Panama, located right on the canal. We will be continuing spider collections, hiking on Barro Colorado Island, and visiting the canopy crane.
-Adam
Adam and I decided against the social hour during one of our final nights at Bocas del Toro, instead venturing off into the dark trails. Neither of us had much in mind for what we were looking for, though I was keeping a keen eye out for insects in the adjacent trees and bushes. Though we saw some neat hoppers and other such bugs, one of two highlights of our hike was a Silky Anteater. I spotted it on a tree just off the trail at eye level. Supposedly this is an extremely rare situation as they typically reside high up in the canopy. Though not rare in numbers, their boreal and nocturnal habits make it a rare find. The Silky Anteater gets it name from the Silk Cotton Tree that it frequents and it is noted that the sheen of its coat matches the silky cotton released from these trees. The female bears one young per season and it is cared for by both parents, but not much else information is available on these small animals. I was able to touch its coat which felt rather wooly and upon first contact it mounted the tree with its back legs and prehensile tail and put its front paws up to its face. This is a previously described defensive position that can follow with an attack with its sharp primary claw hooks. Indeed, these hooks were gnarly and looked similar to that of a sloth. The animal soon relaxed and I was able to run my hands through its fur again. It seemed to be a slow moving organism, though when we returned 10-15 minutes later, it was nowhere to be found. A truly unique experience and a spectacular find! No STRI resident has ever found one on the property.
Having a blast down here overall! It’s been a great trip so far.
~Chris
