Panama Travel Journal - Day 2

-By Bob Chastain


Since we last talked I had a rough nights’ sleep in a very nice hotel on the edge of the Panama Canal. The Country Inn is like every modern hotel except the floors are all tile in the rooms and the continental breakfast is exotic and amazing, compared to the States. We met Matt Evans from the National Zoo this morning. Matt is a young 30-something with great enthusiasm for all things slithery and slimy. His big wish for this trip is to see some more of a snail-eating snake. It’s a snake who’s nose is shaped like a spoon, so as to be able to eat every tiny morsel of snail part.

Today is a staging day. After this entry we will go to the market to look for crafts, go have lunch with Adrian Benedetti. Adrian is a young and handsome man who was the Director of the Summit Zoo, the facility that will house our frogs here upon our return. Adrian is now what you can think of as the director in charge of all national parks, all wildlife and all forestry lands in Panama. After lunch and a little tour, we will go to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) and pick up our gear for the drive to Cerro Azul.

When I last left you, I told you to take this week to look around. Here is my “saw it” list for the day. Brown Pelican, Great Egret, Whimbrel, male and female Great-Tailed Grackle.

Welcome to Panama

-By Bob Chastain


As we flew low out of Houston, I had not yet fully realized what it was we were about to do. Looking down over the city it was a site I had seen many times. Not Houston, for I have only seen it only a hand full of times from the air, but civilization. Roads, bridges, ball parks, golf courses and much more. Every city has these elements that make up its fabric. One thing they all have in common though is people. Every time I look down out of an airplane I see life, but no people. Not because they are not there, but because they are too small. I see cars move, boats move, golf courses and busy roadways. Each time think about the people and wonder what they are doing, totally unaware that I am watching them from above.

Today I think they would be happy if they knew what we were doing. I don’t yet know if they would care about the frogs, but I know that they like the thought of frogs. I know they like the thought of a jungle, the thought of adventure and the thought that someone out there is looking out for all those things. Frogs, such tiny creatures that if we we’re all honest, we all love. Sometimes we don’t think about them, but when we do, we love them. In my heart, in a special place, that I am not ready to share yet, I have waited my whole life for this trip. Somewhere in Panama right now there is a frog, lets call him Bob. Bob’s life is normal now. He has little knowledge that a deadly fungus has been creeping in on him for years. Slowly making its way up the coast of South America and down the narrow track of land from Mexico, through Costa Rica and now into Panama. More than likely Bob and everyone he knows will be dead in less than five years. At the rate in which the chytrid fungus moves, it could be as little as one and no more than five years before it reaches his home in Cerro Brewster. When it does reach his home, past research shows that it will be devastating. Extensive studies by Karen Lips shows what happened to a population of frogs within a few months of the arrival of the chytrid fungus not far from here. Before this happens though we will collect Bob, and make sure he and a few of his kind live until we find a cure for the killing fungus. People around the world will fall in love with him. We will tell his story and the story of his kind and as with the story of the princess, we will fall in love with frogs all over again.

For those of you that will now follow our journey through this blog I think some introductions are in order. On the trip are Kevin and Jamie Kratt. Kevin was Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s board chair for the past two years and has supported this project from the very start. A passionate person, who loves life, his family and the pursuit of all things excellent. Jamie, his wife, has also been in love with this project and the thought of Bob the frog since the beginning. She, too, wondered what the first frog capture would be like and set her heart toward saving frogs from the first day she heard about this project. She brought frogs to a black tie Zoo event called Zoo Ball this past spring. That takes guts because frogs and ball gowns rarely go hand in hand.

Dr. Della Garelle is the Director of Conservation and Animal Health at the Zoo. She is now doing what she always dreamed she would do. As a Cornell trained veterinarian she has spent her whole adult life using her veterinarian skills to save wild life. Like many smart people her job more often is in the office arranging the saving of wildlife than in the field saving wildlife. It has been over 15 years since she has been in the jungles doing field work. As of late, most of her field work is in the high deserts and plains working with such species as black-footed ferrets and Wyoming toads.

Dr. Mark Kombert is our head vet. All day to day care of the zoo animals is done by Mark. Mark is a gentle man with a calm and free spirit. He worked at our Zoo years ago, when I was the Horticulture Curator, before going to spend several years in England with his family. He has recently returned to the zoo and it’s as if he never left. As for me, I am a cheerleader. An encourager. A dreamer. The others have brought me along for the ride and more then likely to make fun of me. I just seem to be that kind of person. The, along with the people back at the zoo, do all the work while I get to speak for you and all those people on the Houston highways. The same people on the highways of Colorado Springs. The people that teach our kids, run our parks, pick up our trash, heal us when we are sick, keep our books, cut our hair, run our business and protect our world. Those people who want to know that someone out there is doing something for all the creatures they love, but sometimes they forget to think about. Life is just plain busy. Just once, just this week, while we are gone and you read along…slow down, look around and know we are working for you. Working to save the animals you see everyday. If it has been a while since you have looked around to see them, do that this week and I will do the same.
-Bob

Panama Travel Journal - Day 1

(The expedition team: Kevin and Jaime Kratt, Dr. Della Garelle, Bob Chastain, Dr. Mark Kombert)

Bags have been packed and our five intrepid travelers and heroes to amphibians are making their way to the jungles of Panama as we speak!

Into the Jungle

Our Cheyenne Mountain Zoo team Zoo leaves for the jungles of Panama today, with the goal of rescuing tiny frogs from a colossal threat.

The deadly chytrid fungus has extinguished amphibian populations around the globe. The team of five will travel to a small section of Panamanian rainforest untouched by the quickly spreading fungus.

Bob Chastain, zoo president and CEO, will lead the group on the weeklong expedition, which will also include representatives from other organizations in the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is a founding member of the project, formed in spring and made up of eight zoos and research institutions.

The expedition is the first “on-the-ground phase” for the rescue effort. Once in Panama, the group will hike into the jungle for nearly six hours, and then spend four days collecting a variety of frog species for a captive breeding program. The ultimate goal: Find a broad cure for the chytrid fungus and reintroduce the protected species back into the wild.

Together with our friends and supporters, we wish Bob and his team the best of luck in this global fight to save these endangered frogs!

Be sure to follow the journey here and on Facebook where you can read daily posts and see pictures of the team’s trek through the rainforest. Bob will update us all via tweets from the rainforest!

Host a WILD holiday party this year!

Chef Beau of Wild Things Catering

Looking for a cool venue to host your holiday party? Look no further! Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has several unique venue options on site including the Mountaineer Sky Ride Summit, Safari Lodge and Lodge at Moose Lake.

Wildthings Catering, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo's official caterer, can do all the planning for you! An expert catering staff can create the perfect menu and arrange any rentals you may need.

For more information, please call our Catering Manager at 719.314.0970 or e-mail Wildthings Catering at catering@cmzoo.org

Here’s just one of Chef Beau’s fantastic recipes to get you thinking about creative holiday menus. This delicacy was prepared two weeks ago at the March of Dimes fundraising event:


Petite Duck BLT with Roasted Yellow Bell Pepper Aoli

Makes 20 bite size appetizers


2 duck breasts boneless skin on
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon coarse ground black pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
4-6 cloves of garlic peeled
6 slices of bread of your choice (I like to use old school white bread) crust removed
Heirloom plum tomatoes, red plum tomatoes or tomato of your liking
Olive Oil
Sprouts of micro-greens of your choice
Salt/pepper

Duck Bacon
Mix brown sugar & salt, put ½ mixture into small sealable container. Put duck breasts on top of mix with remaining ½ mix coating duck breasts completely. Seal & store overnight in refrigeration for 12 -24 hours.
Remove from salt & sugar mix …rinse. Air dry at room temperature for 30 minutes. Pepper both sides of breasts.
Smoke with hickory chips at 200 for 1.5-3 hours. If you cannot smoke on grill outside, put in oven at 200 degrees for 1 hour.
Let cool, slice thinly widthwise.

Aoli
Roast one whole yellow bell pepper in oven at 500 degrees until skin is blistered and black. Remove pepper from oven & place in small bowl with a couple ice cubes and cover with plastic wrap for three minutes. Peel skin from pepper, rise & remove seeds, stem and veins from pepper, slice thinly & reserve.
In small sauté pan dry roast 4-6 cloves of garlic at medium –high heat until dark brown or blackened and tender. Let cool & reserve.
In a food processor or blender add 1 cup mayo, the sliced roasted bell pepper & sautéed garlic. Puree, add salt & pepper to taste.

Toast
Cut desired sandwich bread with crust removed into fourths, brush baking sheet with olive oil, place slices on sheet then drizzle tops of bread with olive oil.
Bake at 400 until desired color. Let cool to room temperature.

To assemble BLT’s
Place 1-2 slices of duck bacon on baked toast bites, three thin slices tomato fanned out on top of bacon then add a small amount of sprouts or micro-greens to top it all off. We like to serve our appetizers off simple white platters to make a beautiful presentation. Take it up a notch by serving on sheets of thick glass or framed glass raised with vases filled with your choice of creative ideas! Enjoy!

Orangutan Awareness

Join us in building orangutan awareness Saturday and Sunday, November 14 and 15 from 11am – 3pm each day! Activities like making orangutan enrichment, building a hay nest, coloring and orangutan art viewing will take place in Primate World from 11 am – 3 pm.

Also on the agenda:

12:00 pm See an Orangutan Demonstration and Keeper Talk
1:30 pm Learn about nest building
2:00 pm Tour an orangutan exhibit
2:30 pm Orangutan Enrichment Demonstration

Be sure to visit this weekend to learn all about this endangered species!

Ever considered becoming a zoo keeper?

Today’s Zoos are the center of conservation work, education and research and our very own Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is one of the premier internship sites utilized by Pikes Peak Community College zoo keeping students.

Pikes Peak Community College is one of two colleges in the United States that has an academic partnership with an American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, (AZA) accredited zoo. Through this program, students become competent in the care of species in hoof stock, primates and carnivores, and birds and reptiles.

In addition to the practical application, students are trained in animal husbandry, exhibitry, safety, veterinary care, horticulture, and environmental science. The program also offers electives such as elephant management, animal training, advanced exhibitry techniques, primate studies and adventures in zoo design.

Wonder if you have what it takes to become a zoo keeper? Craig Coffey of Fox 21 News passed the “Keeper for a Day” test! Check out his story!



For more information and resources for Zoo and Aquarium careers, visit aza.org.

A present for Osito

Check out these recent photos of Osito enjoying enrichment created by YOU! This decorated box was filled with yummy treats like nuts and honey!







If you love Andean Bears and want to help them, use the token you receive on your next visit to vote for the Andean Bear in our Quarters for Conservation kiosks located in the admissions plaza.

Your votes help fund The Andean Bear Conservation Project which protects Andean bears from extinction through field studies, rehabilitation and release of captive bears. Learn more at www.andeanbear.org.

Contest: My Favorite Zoo Memory

In the spirit of a quickly approaching holiday season, we’ve decided to give away free tickets to the Zoo!

To win simply post your favorite Zoo memory as a comment to this post. It can be the first time you visited as a child, the first time you fed a giraffe, or the first time you saw your child’s eyes light up as they helped clean an animal ambassador’s cage in the Loft. Maybe it was even partyin’ it up at last summer’s Mountaineer Mixer Series!

We’ll announce two winners on Friday, November 30. The winners will receive a 4-pack of FREE tickets for Zoo admission.

New Snow Leopard Map

This GPS collar uplink map shows the most recent locations of the cats currently collared in the South Gobi research area and provides critical information to researchers on how and where the Snow Leopard move. The round dots are from previous up-links while the squares connected with the lines are the most recent movements from each cat.

Read more from Megan Sanders, Animal Behavior Programs Manager and Snow Leopard Conservationist.