PALENQUE, Panama — “Does he want to know how many tigers we have? What about monkeys? Did he ask about monkeys?” Edilberto Vergara kept interjecting (in Spanish) during a Farm World interview with his brother Jose Luis Vergara and his father Daniel Vergara.

The Vergaras operate a farming operation on the Caribbean coast in the Costa Arriba region in Colon Province of the Republic of Panama. Edilberto, who does not work on the family farm, but runs a restaurant in Palenque that the family recently started, was joking. Or was he? Surely, there are not any wild tigers anywhere in the Americas?

Families are tight-knit in Panama, so all of the family members were interested and amused by the interview of Daniel and Jose Luis by a stranger from America. But none were as amused as Edilberto who constantly offered interviewing tips.

A Farm World reader might have some predators to worry about; maybe coyotes or wild dogs, but tigers are definitely not an issue. In most of the United States, at least in the East and Midwest, agriculture dominates nature. Apparently, in Panama that is not the case. Much of the land the Vergara family farms is jungle.

Daniel broke down the livestock as 70 cows, three grande bulls, around 40 female calves, and around 40 male calves. He said that they have another 25 niños calves. The Vergaras raise Brahmin cattle, which withstand the heat and harsh Panamanian conditions. While Daniel was listing the cattle numbers, Edilberto kept interjecting with, “Does he want to know how many tigers we have?” He also talked about birds and monkeys.

Edilberto loves animals. His closest companion is a parrot named Pancho that lives behind the restaurant. The parrot’s only word is his friend’s nickname, “Berto.”

Jose Luis told a story with a serious face, sparked by Edilberto’s continuous comments, punctuated by the word tigre. A translator related how recently Jose Luis and his son tracked down and killed a “tiger” on the farm.

In actuality, what they referred to as a tiger is either a jaguar or a puma – which, although are becoming rarer due to loss of habitat, can be found in the Panama jungle.

The Vergaras killed the cat, which had been threatening the livestock and sold the skin in the city.

Their land is diverse in flora and fauna. The size of their farm overall is 260 hectares, of which 400 acres are still native untouched rain forest, home to many species of plants and animals. Various birds, including toucans, iguanas and more live on the property.

A variety of plants are found growing in the jungle. These include platano, yucca, pineapple, mango, avocado, guava, nance, comorosa, orange, limes, lemons, coffee, dry rice, namenape, corn and more. According to the family, they are unable to harvest many of the fruits and edible plants from the forest because they are competing with wild animals.

The rugged land also makes it difficult to reach where the wild plants grow.

The family harvests some for their own subsistence as well as for the restaurant, but there is not enough to make it worthwhile to harvest for sale at market. Their primary focus for the market is the cattle.

Raising cattle is a challenge in any environment, but in Panama the conditions are even tougher. The Vergara family originally came from the Province of Los Santos in the western part of Panama. “Covering the southeastern third of the Peninsula de Azuero, Los Santos Province is home to cowboys, statuesque people and gorgeous beaches,” described The Lonely Planet travel guide. “The residents of the Saints Province take great pride in their Spanish history.”

Los Santos is somewhat like the Midwest. Agriculture dominates the landscape.

The majority of the population of Los Santos is of European descent. Despite Los Santos’ distinction as the birthplace of Panamanian independence, the people of the province take great pride in their European heritage. Los Santos is dotted with small farms and ranches and the people of Santos are a proud people. The men can be recognized by their trademark straw hats.

Colon Province is different from Los Santos. It is on the Caribbean side of Panama and is east of the canal. Outside of the city of Colon, most of the province is undeveloped jungle. Although it is the country’s fourth most populous province, the majority of that population is in Colon, which is at the Caribbean mouth of the canal. While Los Santos is primarily populated by people of European descent, Colon is much more diverse.

The Vergara family’s lighter complexion stands out in the province because the majority of the people there are black descendants of slaves. There are also indigenous people, Kuna, and people who are mestizo, which generally means a mix of indigenous and Spanish descent.

The Vergara family moved from their home province where the people are similar to them and agriculture drives the economy to a province that is undeveloped and where the people are culturally different. Economics and environmental issues were prime factors for the move.

Los Santos Province is suffering the affects of its own success. Most of the available land for farming and ranching has been worked over. The province is considered to have the highest rate of deforestation and along with that comes issues of erosion and water pollution.

Facing these issues, the Vergara family pulled up their roots and relocated to a province with large tracts of undeveloped land where they could have room to raise cattle and a chance to make a living. While discussing the challenges of agriculture in Panama, Jose Luis said it is hard to maintain the cows’ weight because of poor pasture. His father, Daniel, agreed and added that the soil in Colon is lacking in nutrients. Although they have relocated to a province where there is more available ground to operate, it is quantity over quality. Because the area was rainforest, most of the nutrients were locked up in the trees and vegetation and not in the soil.

When the trees are cut to make pasture and farmland the nutrients are lost. It is a trade-off, though, as Jose Luis points out. In other provinces such as their home of Los Santos, water can be scarce. Despite the many challenges it is apparent that the Vergaras carry with them a pride and work ethic that is a trademark of the people of Los Santos.

The Vergaras have become a leading family in their new community succeeding through their hard work and willingness to try new ventures such as opening the restaurant.

Now if Edilberto can just find a good recipe for roast tigre.