Panama's Tropical Paradise a 'Hub of Biodiversity'•from CNN Global Connections

By Susannah Palk and Denisa Morariu for CNN

September 17, 2010 -- Updated 1120 GMT (1920 HKT)

(CNN) -- A hotbed of biodiversity, Panama's tropical habitats are home to some of the most diverse and exotic species of plants and animals on Earth.

Covering almost half the country's land surface are immense tracks of rainforests, mangrove wetlands and mountain cloud forests.

Even the country's cosmopolitan capital of Panama City boasts a forest within its city boundaries -- one of the last tropical dry forests in Central America.

In all, the country houses over 10,444 different types of plant species including 1,200 orchid varieties, 678 fern species and 1,500 varieties of trees. As well as 255 species of mammals and 972 indigenous bird species, according to the National Society for the Protection of Nature, Panama.

The reason for such ecological abundance is the country's prime geographical position. Dividing the Pacific Ocean from the Caribbean Sea, the country serves as a "biological corridor," connecting both North and Central America.

This, explains Javier Mateo-Vega, Director of the Environmental Leadership & Training Initiative at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and Yale University, makes Panama a "hub of biodiversity."

For the complete article and slide show:

http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/09/17/tropical.forests.panama/

If you are coming to Boquete, Panama:

http://www.boquetemountainsafaritours.com/index1.html

Comments

[Rich Son]

What a useful information about panama city.

Thanks.

rich son http://visasecret.com