The Hidden Zoo - Azuero Backroads Discoveries visits La Laguna,Los Santos, Panama (click for story)

La Laguna is a quaint little town on the main highway between Las Tablas and Pedasi.

Don’t blink or before you realize you will have passed right through it. When you dig beneath the surface you will be amazed at all the interesting things going on here.

Our first discovery was a mini-zoo owned by Macias Bravo, started by his son. The zoo was part of a Peace Corp initiative. The front of the house is a bit overgrown, making it easy to miss as you are passing through. When you walk past the trees, you are greeted with a cleverly decorated koi pond.

We were met by Macias, a gentle soft-spoken gentleman, who took us on a winding path through eclectic sculptures of metal and wood.

The path winds past several large outdoor birdcages with parakeets, parrots, Euphonias and other birds which are common in Panama.

Arriving at a large circular area FULL of iguanas, our eyes lit up. When Macias asked us if we wanted to go inside with the iguanas, we could hardly contain our excitement. This was our favorite, especially since we could get some great closeup photos of them.

Macias then took us down another path where we were shown an enclosure with Conejo Pintado (Paca). The Conejo Pintado was part of an eco-project begun about 7 years ago to repopulate this native species.

The lowland paca, also known as the spotted paca (or conejo pintado in Panama), is a large rodent found in tropical and sub-tropical America, from east-central Mexico to northern Argentina where they are prized for their meat. Adult pacas can grow to 24-31 inches long and they typically weigh between 13 to 26 lbs. They are found from sea-level up to about 1600 meters. They breed throughout the year and produce one or two offspring once or twice a year. Due to their low fecundity, they need to be good at survival. They prefer to feed on fruits, but they can also eat leaves and flowers. The pacas are nocturnal, and and their poor eyesight is made up for by having very good hearing.

Note: If you visit Macias, consider a small donation. The upkeep of so many animals and birds has to cost a lot. Please call him at 507-6505-4396 to arrange your visit. To help you find him, here is a picture of the entrance to his place.

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Our next find was another older gentleman, Martin Prado Prado. He took us behind his son’s house to show us an enclosure with White-lipped Peccary. This was also part of an eco-project done with his son Aquilino Prado Ortega.

The white-lipped peccary is found in both Central and South America. Most of its range is in rainforests, but it is also known to live in a wide range of other habitats such as dry forests, grasslands, mangrove, and dry areas. In size and shape it is similar to a domesticated pig, with a large head, thick neck, long snout and short tail. It is listed as a vulnerable species whose numbers are decreasing. They are a favorite food local source. As with the pacas, the project was designed to reestablish their numbers in Panama.

We loved this second discovery because the house was a 60-year old mud house, still in great shape. In the back of the building was the old cooktop fired by wood. The stove was quite interesting. It was made with a thick slab of mud, looking a little like concrete, held up on wood legs to make it counter height. On top of that was an iron grate, much like you would use when cooking over a campfire.

Martin also showed us some of the Motete (baskets that workers carry on their backs to hold tools, etc.) that his son had made. We will cover the making and use of these baskets in a future blog post.