THE CHALLENGES OF PEACE IN THE AMAZON: CONSERVING WILD LIFE
By : Mariela Osorno & Natalia Atuesta, Instituto SINCHI Researchers, for TV news
Date: March 29 2017
An investigation by the Amazonian Institute for Scientific Research (SINCHI) on wildlife in the Colombian Amazon during the year 2016 revealed the abundance of populations of medium and large mammal species, reptiles and birds in territories previously controlled by the FARC.
In the northwestern areas of Guaviare, western Caqueta and northern Guainia, by means of observation tours and the aid of trap cameras, the presence of herds of chigüiros (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) and cajuches (Tayassu pecari), dantas (Tapirus terrestris), paujiles (Crax alector), caimans (Caiman crocodilus, Paleosuchus trigonatus and P. palpebrosus), pumas and jaguars (Puma concolor and Panthera onca), and others such as the verrucous (snake) (Lachesis muta), present in preserved forests with the presence of small and medium rodents that constitute their diet.
Apart from the essential value of biodiversity for the country, the presence of these species and their recorded frequency, indicates ecosystems in good conservation status where species fulfill an ecological function: recycling of nutrients, transportation of nutrients between water and forests, decline in decay (scavengers), predation, consumption, seed dispersal, pollination, etc ...
