Living with Wildlife on the Azuero Coast

Your new neighbors have fur, feathers and fins.

One of the best parts of living here is that wildlife isn’t something you drive to see. It’s in your backyard, often before your first coffee.

Howler monkeys

Your alarm clock or as some locals say, your sign that its about to rain. Their roar carries for kilometers making them sound so much bigger than they are. They mostly keep to themselves in the treetops, and the forest corridors around our towns are part of what keeps them here.

Sea turtles

Five of the seven sea turtle species nest on beaches along this coast. Nearby, a protected cove called La Marinera, is one of the most important nesting sites in Panama where a natural phenomenon occurs called La Arribada ("The Arrival", roughly translated). This is a mass synchronized nesting event that only occurs on 11 beaches in entire world. Peak nesting season is from August to Mid-December. If you build near the beach, keep lights low and pointed away from the sand or use red lightbulbs for outdoor lighting. Mother turtles and hatchlings follow the brightest horizon so bright outdoor lights can disorient them.

Whales and dolphins

Humpback whales migrate to Panama’s Pacific coast to mate and give birth in the second half of the year, and dolphins are a regular sight from boats. Humpbacks usually visit from August to mid-October.

Birds

The endangered Great Green Macaw, several types of parrots, and a variety of shorebirds like frigates and pelicans. Birders could spend a lifetime here and still be adding to their list.

Cerro Hoya National Park

Next to Cambutal sits one of Panama’s least-visited national parks, protecting 80,000 acres of some of the last old forest on the peninsula. It’s rugged and hard to reach on your own, but guided trips leave from town.

Being a good neighbor to wildlife

• Keep forest on your land. Clearing less means more shade, more water and more wildlife.

• Plant native trees. Reforestation on old pasture brings animals back fast. ProEco Azuero, a local environmental non-profit can guide you on how best to reforest your land.

• Keep dogs in at night, and never feed wild animals.

• Watch your lighting, especially near the beach.

  
  

The bottom line

People come for the waves and stay for the mornings: monkeys in the trees, macaws overhead, and whales offshore. If you buy land here, you’re also becoming a steward of a remarkable place.