Panama Canal Museum

2009 Golden Frog of Panama

Not so long ago, on a mountain, in a forest, in the tropical country of Panama, there lived a beautiful little frog. The frog was bright golden yellow with inky black patches and lived near a swiftly flowing river. He spent his days climbing trees or ambling to the water’s edge and waving to his friends. Even though he was brightly colored, the frog was well hidden in his forest home.

The people who shared the frog’s forest believed him to be a sign of good luck, so they took him home with them. But one day, the people noticed that the little frog had gone. They looked and they looked, but they found only silence. The good luck charm of the forest had disappeared….

And thus unfolds the saga of Panama’s Golden Frog (Genus: Atelopus; Species: zeteki), which scientists now believe is extinct in the wild. For many years, the frogs were captured and taken into hotels and restaurants to promote tourism, as well as placed in people’s homes for good luck. In addition, deforestation and the use of agricultural chemicals that poisoned the streams where the frogs live contributed to their dwindling numbers; but the most damaging blow appeared in the form of a naturally occurring fungus (Chytrid) that invades the skin of amphibians – which breathe through their skin – and effectively suffocates them. The disease can be treated if caught in time, but there is no treatment for the fungus in the wild.

Through aggressive, global conservation efforts the species is being preserved in several zoo breeding populations throughout the world. Thus, while the tiny Panamanian Golden Frog may be gone from its native forests, managed care facilities throughout North America and Panama hope to keep the species alive and healthy. 

The Golden Frog is a national symbol of Panama and is revered much as the bald eagle is in the United States. Its image appears everywhere in the country: on lottery tickets, T-shirts, postcards, tourist souvenirs and jewelry. Pre-Colombian indigenous peoples considered the frog sacred. They made gold and clay idols of the frogs, known today as huacas. The frog huaca represents fertility. Legend has it that the Ngobe tribe believed that the Golden Frog would transform into gold huacas upon death. Hence anyone seeing or owning the frog alive would have good luck.

Unlike other frogs, the Panama Golden Frog lacks eardrums and communicates by using a form of sign language, called semaphore, to signal to one another. They “wave” their hands or raise and move their feet to defend territory, try to attract a mate, or even to greet one another. Their bright gold color helps to advertise to predators that they are poisonous; the toxins are derived from the insects they eat; the more different kinds of insects and invertebrates ingested, the more toxic their skin secretions become.

The Panama Canal Museum is proud to honor the beautiful Panamanian Golden Frog with this exclusive 2009 design in its series of annual collectible Christmas ornaments.