Description: [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="413" caption="Francisco "Chi Chi" Vitola, chief of labor force on for the Canal Zone Biological Area (CZBA), feeds a deer on Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal Zone, The CZBA was transferred to the Smithsonian in 1924 and in 1946 was renamed the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, c.1940, by Unidentified photographer,
Description: The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama was founded in 1923 as the Barro Colorado Island Laboratory to study tropical biology. In 1946, it was placed under Smithsonian aegis as the Canal Zone Biological Area. Although still based in Panama, today its researchers study biodiversity and human culture throughout the tropics. History of the Smithsonian Tropical