Page 287 - The Rough Guide to Panama (Travel Guide)

Around Golfo de SAn MiGuel The Darién anD easTern Panama 285
SAVING THE HARPY EAGLE
instantly recognizable for its splendid slate-grey back, brilliant white chest and distinctive crest,
the harpy eagle (águila harpía) is the largest eagle in the neotropics and one of the most
powerful worldwide, with talons the size of a grizzly bear’s claws. The larger female can weigh
up to 9kg and be more than 1m long, and despite its vast wingspan of more than 2m, it can
reach speeds of up to 80km/h while accelerating through trees to stab its prey.
After declining in numbers for many years due to loss of habitat and hunting, the harpy eagle is
making a comeback: an increasingly successful breed-and-release programme run by the Peregrine
fund (Wperegrinefund.org) has resulted in Panama now having the greatest concentration of
harpy eagles in Mesoamerica, with more than two hundred pairs. it will be a long recovery process,
though, as harpy eagles are lethargic breeders, laying two eggs once every three years; worse still,
once the first egg has hatched, the second is discarded as the pair focus on nurturing the single
chick in the nest for another six months, and taking care of it for a further two years.
Working with local communities and conducting educational campaigns in schools, the
conservation project has succeeded in heightening public awareness and interest in the harpy
eagle. fittingly, the raptor is now the national bird, topping the national coat of arms, and
has its own national day on April 10. All this publicity, it is hoped, will help ensure the harpy
eagle’s continued survival.
for more on the efforts to save this majestic bird, check the sites of fondo Peregrino-Panamá
(Wperegrinefund.org) and Patronato Amigos del Águila Harpía (Waguilaharpia.org). To find out
which communities have an active harpy eagle nest in any given year, contact the darién desk
of Áreas Protegidas in the MiA offices in Panama City (see box, p.42) or Metetí (see p.279).
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rewarded by a truly special sighting: a parent returning with a monkey in its talons,
which is ripped apart, before tiny morsels are fed to the chick with incredible delicacy.
The focus of community life is the zinc-roofed casa comunal, where on Saturdays or
Sundays the leaders preside over the weekly village gathering. The tri-weekly
Evangelical services are also a draw for a large number of the community, while late
afternoon the football pitch provides an important social focus for both the men’s and
women’s teams, and visitors are welcome to join in.
arriVaL anD aCTiViTies mOGUé
By boat Transport to the village makes the journey Hiking and birdwatching It takes 15min to reach the
expensive unless you catch a village boat ($15 one way more luxuriant rainforest from Mogué, and a further 1hr
from La Palma). Enquire at the main jetty, as boats leave 30min along a well-trodden trail to an active harpy eagle
with the rising tide most days (especially Mon, Wed and nest, though there are numerous less-frequented paths to
Fri). Otherwise, ring the presidente de turismo, Alberto Rito explore with a guide ($10/group for the guide, $10/group
(T6653 3379), to arrange a boat pickup in La Palma. Ask trail fee – $25 to visit a harpy eagle nest), populated with
for the cool box to be brought along, which you can fill with toucans, sloths and monkeys.
fish, chicken or shrimp from the market for meals; Horseriding and fishing These activities can be
otherwise your diet will be very limited. organized for $10.
aCCOmmODaTiOn anD eaTinG
Community accommodation Visitors can sleep on a served, affords a prime spot to eavesdrop on village life.
mattress in a small tent or in a hammock in the casa $12/day for the cook’s services/group or solo traveller, plus
comunal, whose breezy raised platform, where food is $5/meal. $10

Reserva Punta Patiño
Established in the early 1990s, Reserva Punta Patiño is Panama’s first and, at 300 square
kilometres, largest private reserve, occupying the entire headland at the tip of the choppy
Golfo de San Miguel, just beyond the lively Afro-Darienite fishing village of Punta Alegre.
While the landscape is nowhere near as dramatic as the jungle-carpeted peaks of the
interior, the regenerating hinterland forest – once devastated by cattle ranching, timber

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