The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
Panamanian Golden Frogs
Zone 6: Panamanian Golden Frogs in Chimp Forest
Key Messages and Themes
1. Adaptations: A complex of structural, behavioral and/or physiological features of an animal that
help it survive in its natural wild environment. Encourage guests to identify characteristics of Zoo
animals that might help them survive in their unique wild habitats. Examples: a lion’s camouflage
coloration enables it to hide from prey for a sneak attack; a giraffe’s long neck and prehensile
tongue enable it to pull leaves off of tall tree branches; a penguin’s flipper-like wings allow it to
propel itself underwater and achieve great speed.
2. Status: The conservation status of species in the Zoo’s collection is determined by the IUCN
(World Conservation Union) Red List of Threatened Species. This list provides taxonomic,
conservation status and distribution information on taxa that have been globally evaluated using
the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. This system is designed to determine the relative risk of
extinction, and the main purpose of the IUCN Red List is to catalogue and highlight those taxa that
are facing a higher risk of global extinction (i.e. those listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered
and Vulnerable). The IUCN Red List also includes information on taxa that are categorized as
Extinct or Extinct in the Wild; on taxa that cannot be evaluated because of insufficient information
(i.e. are Data Deficient); and on taxa that are either close to meeting the threatened thresholds or
that would be threatened were it not for an ongoing taxon-specific conservation program (i.e. are
Near Threatened). Taxa that have been evaluated to have a low risk of extinction are classified as
Least Concern. You can find Maryland Zoo species status listings on signage throughout the Zoo,
as well as within these Zone Interpretation documents. See the IUCN Red List website for more
information: http://www.iucnredlist.org/
3. Where have the golden frogs gone? In the mountain forests of central Panama, frog calls once
filled the night air. Those forests are now almost silent. The frogs are all but gone. They
disappeared gradually at first, threatened by deforestation and over-collection. They are
vanishing rapidly now, unable to resist the deadly amphibian chytrid fungus.
4. What is your zoo doing for Panamanian golden frogs? The Maryland Zoo has been working since
1999 to help prevent the extinction of Panamanian golden frogs. We were the first institution to
successfully breed these frogs in captivity, and we bred several of the “founders” of the North
American captive population. The Maryland Zoo actually owns all of the Panamanian golden frogs
in North America and oversees their placement at other zoos and aquariums. Other zoos have
learned from us how to better care for and manage this species, and we continue to lead in the
long-term genetic management of this species under an AZA-sanctioned Species Survival Plan.
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Panamanian Golden Frogs
5. What can you do? Start in your own backyard. Sit outside and listen closely to the sound of frog
calls in the evening. These are the frogs nearest to you. Provide them with habitat by avoiding the
temptation to over-landscape. Leave some woods, water, and even tall weeds undisturbed, and
go easy on the pesticide and fertilizer!
Natural History Information
Panamanian Golden Frog
Atelopus zeteki
STATUS: Critically endangered; quite possibly extinct in the wild
HABITAT: wet rainforests and dry cloud forests of Cordilleran mountains in western-central Panama
LENGTH: 1-2 inches 2.5 - 5.1 cm
WEIGHT: males: .1-.4 oz 3-12 g; females: 4-15 g ..14-.53 oz
DIET: insects and small invertebrates
ACTIVE: diurnal
LIFESPAN: up to 9 years in captivity; unknown in the wild
OFFSPRING: approximately 200-600 eggs per clutch
Interpretation Points
TALKING POINTS RE: PANAMANIAN GOLDEN FROG
What’s cool about Panamanian golden frogs?
They’re beautiful.
They do not have external ears.
They communicate through sign language.
They were believed by Panamanian Indian tribes to be the embodiment of good fortune.
Male frogs will wrestle with each other if vying for a female or territory.
They are toxic when ingested by predators. Their black and yellow coloration acts as a warning.
Reproduction:
When it’s time for golden frogs to mate, the male frogs stop eating until they successfully find a
mate, which may take several months!
A female frog will try to intimidate any male frog that she encounters by waving aggressively at
him. If he backs off, she won’t mate with him. If he perseveres, she will.
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Panamanian Golden Frogs
Golden frogs often breed in streams high above waterfalls so that predatory fish won’t be able
to reach their eggs and tadpoles.
Cultural Connections:
The Panamanian golden frog is a well-known symbol of good luck and of Panama’s natural
richness. All Panamanians know what the golden frog looks like but few have actually seen one
in the wild.
Panamanian golden frogs are a very rare species of frog that live only in the mountain streams
of Panama’s mid-level western rainforests.
Conservation issues:
Golden frogs have long been prized by collectors of exotic amphibians and by Panamanians who
consider them good-luck charms. Over-collection has helped reduce the population of frogs to a
dangerously low level.
Loss of habitat is another severe threat confronting golden frogs. Every year, they lose more
and more precious habitat to deforestation. Without a place to live, these frogs cannot survive
in the wild (even if biologists figure out a way to knock out the fungus mentioned below)
The chytrid fungus now poses the greatest and most immediate threat to Panamanian golden
frogs. The fungus has ravaged many species of amphibians in other parts of the world, including
North America, and has now spread to Panama where it has killed off remaining known
populations of golden frogs.
How can the golden frogs be saved in the wild?
First, scientists need to figure out how to eradicate the fungus. This is an ongoing science
project at the moment.
Secondly, wildlife conservationists in many areas – in zoos, in the Panamanian government, field
researchers in the rainforests of Panama – need to succeed in their efforts to breed golden frogs
in captivity and reintroduce offspring in the wild, to raise the population level.
Lastly, but not least importantly, the Panamanian government and people need to find a way to
preserve the golden frog’s remaining mountain habitat because without a place to live, the
golden frogs can’t survive in the wild.
Luckily, Panama is a country committed to preserving its amazing diversity of life and
breathtaking natural beauty. Panama is a long, thin isthmus of land that joins Central and South
America and acts as a land bridge between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The
famous Panama Canal literally cuts the country in half. Steep, rugged, rainforested mountains
run down the central spine of the country. Although it is a country smaller than the state of
South Carolina, Panama has one of the richest concentrations of life in the western hemisphere.
More than 960 species of birds, 220 species of mammals, 240 species of reptiles, 160 species of
amphibians, and over 10,000 species of plants live in Panama. Over 25% of Panama’s land is
protected as national parks or nature reserves. Because of its unique natural richness, Panama
is home to the world’s most advanced laboratory for tropical biological research, established
and run by the Smithsonian Institution.
Zoo Staff have traveled to Panama several times to help.
Biologists, keepers, and other volunteers from North American zoos and aquariums, including The
Maryland Zoo, have traveled to Panama many times to gather specimens of as many different
amphibian and reptile species as possible from the wild before they potentially disappear for good.
Staff members from The Maryland Zoo traveled to Panama in 2006 to help complete construction of the
El Valle Conservation Center, a state-of-the-art facility that houses many of Panama’s endangered
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species of amphibian and reptile. The center includes public education exhibits where people can learn
about the wonder and fragility of life in the rainforest, with particular focus on amphibians such as the
golden frog. MZ staff have also gone on research and collecting expeditions in the rainforest.
A brief account of what happens on a collecting expedition:
Collecting amphibians in the Panamanian rainforest often occurs under cover of darkness. Each
nocturnal expedition begins with a “game plan” meeting to designate teams and collection areas.
Working at night means locating frogs by sound. Working in teams of three allowed volunteers to
triangulate where frogs were calling from and then locate them with lights.
Upon leaving the rainforest, volunteers carefully clean their boots with bleach so as not to spread the
deadly chytrid fungus. All it takes is one microscopic spore of chytrid to start a spread, so cleaning boots
is critical but extremely challenging. “Every time we would leave a forest tract we would spend at least
an hour cleaning our boots,” recalls Kevin Murphy, Reptile and Amphibian Collection and Conservation
Manager at The Maryland Zoo.
One of the highlights of a collecting trip to Panama is sleeping in a hammock in the rainforest. “It was
surprisingly comfortable and really wonderful,” attests Murphy. “You’re out there in the open falling
asleep to the sounds of the forest, but you’re in your own cocoon, enclosed in the hammock’s netting
with a rain tarp overhead, so the bugs and the rain don’t get you.”
Glossary of Key Terms
Chytrid: common name for Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, or Bd, the fungus that causes
chytridiomycosis, a disease that has proven deadly to many amphibian species, including Panamanian
golden frogs.
Amplexus: the copulatory embrace of frogs and toads, during which the male fertilizes the eggs that are
released by the female
Semaphore: a system of signaling with lights or moving arms; in the case of Panamanian golden frogs,
their version of “sign language”
Special Notes on New PGF Exhibit
The Panamanian Golden Frog exhibit will be located in the Chimpanzee Forest in the African Journey
section of the Zoo. Needless to say, the Panamanian golden frog is not an African species, but the Zoo
does not have a Central American geographic area. Guests might ask what these frogs are doing in the
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Panamanian Golden Frogs
Chimp Forest, and you can say that they are not an African species but that a rainforest setting is
appropriate for them. They are native to the mid-montane rainforests and cloud forests of Panama.
There will be two informational signs with the exhibit (see below), as well as an interactive video
interview of Kevin Murphy, Herpetology Collection and Conservation Manager at the Zoo.
Why are we exhibiting Panamanian golden frogs at all? Because for so many years the Zoo has been at
the forefront of efforts to save this species, and the story is not widely known. This is a chance to
introduce Zoo guests to this remarkable and fragile amphibian that has captivated our attention for so
long, and to make guests aware of the complex fight for survival that Panamanian golden frogs and
many other amphibian species around the world face. Our educational message is not just about
Panamanian golden frogs. It is about amphibians worldwide.
The worldwide decline in wild populations of frogs, toads, and salamanders observed in the past several
decades has come to be known as the Global Amphibian Crisis. More than one-third of the nearly 6,000
amphibian species known to science are currently at risk of extinction. The rate at which amphibians are
vanishing far outpaces similar rates for birds and mammals. This is particularly interesting and sobering
because amphibians are “environmental indicator species” -- extremely sensitive to environmental
change, and the first to flourish or decline in the face of change.
Signage
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References:
Winter 2006 Zoogram
Spring 2004 Zoogram
2006-2007 Maryland Zoo Annual Report
http://www.marylandzoo.org/meet/meet-animals.aspx?AnimalID=100
http://www.houstonzoo.org/amphibians/
http://www.amphibiaweb.org/cgi-bin/amphib_query?where-genus=Atelopus&where-species=zeteki
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