Cerro Brewster, Panama

Edgardo Griffith Director of EVACC and Paul Crump Reptile and Amphibian Keeper at the Houston were joined by Eric Baitchman from Zoo New England Dustin Smith from Busch Gardens and Tim Herman and Maria Tumeo from Toledo Zoological Society for a six day field excursion to the Cerro Brewster region of central-eastern Panama. The trip yielded a diverse quantity of reptiles and amphibians a total of about 60 species were found. Priority taxa collected for ex situ conservation tactics included the Horned Marsupial Frog the Casque-headed Treefrog the Panama Robber Frog the Tabasara Robber Frog and the Sapo Limosa. The sad reality is that although healthy populations of amphibians now thrive in this untouched pristine area in roughly 2 to 4 years the deadly chytrid fungus will most likey sweep through Cerro Brewster wiping out every amphibian in its path.