Tropical Forest Blog
Since its construction in 2006, our state-of-the-art Tropical Forest Conservatory has undergone major redesigns every three years to showcase the ecology of tropical forest regions around the world. As part of the three-year planning and design process behind our new Tropical Forest exhibit, Phipps staff members are traveling to Panama to study first-hand the region’s biodiversity hotspots, natural resources and culture. Follow their adventures!
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Coming Home from Cuba
Today we awoke early to meet Lore, a birding expert with the Coastal Ecosystem Research Center, and traveled to Paredon Grande and Cayo Guillermo (also Pilar Beach). Over the course of the morning, we visited four different...
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Tiny Birds, Big Rodents and Other Life in Cuba
This morning, we drove an hour to the province of Holguin, located along the eastern coast. We met with Carlos Piña, an ornithologist and researcher, who gave us a tour of the National Museum of Natural History. The building...
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Parrots, Palms and Solar Panels in Cuba
This morning we picked up Rafael and headed to El Yunque to hike. When we arrived at a portion of the park with a trail to a waterfall, Raphael mentioned that with all of the rain we would need to swim in a strong current to...
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National Parks and Conservation in Cuba
We headed out early this morning to get to Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt. It took us a little over an hour by car on back roads, crossing a few bridges and rivers to get there. We crossed Rio Toa, the largest river in Cuba...
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Parks and Hikes in Baracoa, Cuba
Today we began the four-hour drive from Santiago de Cuba to Baracoa, along a serpentine road called La Farola, with many bridges and winding turns along a steep cliffside. The vegetation changed drastically along our drive from...
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Begonias, Biospheres and Coffee in Cuba
We jumped in the car this morning to drive up a long, winding road to La Gran Piedra, a large rock sitting at the top of the Bacanao mountain range at about 1500 meters above sea level. As we drove, we could feel the air change and...