Cueva de los Guacharos
The Cueva de los Guacharos National Park is the older of the 51 protected areas of Colombia, created in 1960. The park is located in the western face of the Colombian eastern andean range (cordillera oriental) in territory of Huila and Caquetá departments. It covers an area of 90 km2 corresponding to the karstic zones of magdalena river and Caqueta River.
The park is intended to protect the cloud forest and páramo ecosystems. This area hosts one of the last intact oak forest in the country (with the native oak species Quercus humboldtii, Bonpland, Fagaceae and Colombobalanus excelsa, (Lozano), which was descripted in 1979).
The park was named after the guácharo bird (Steatornis caripensis, ordo Caprimulgiformes, family Steatornithidae) nocturn bird which inhabites in caves.
A national park in Monagas, Venezuela has a similar name. For the Venezuelan national park see Cueva del Guácharo National Park.
Biodiversity
There is no enough current research to determine the exact amount of species in the area. Some descripted species are:
Mammals
| Family | common name | range | conservation status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lagothrix lagotricha lugens (Humboldt) | Cebidae\Atelinae | churuco monkey | High Amazon valley | ? |
| Cebus apella (Linné) | Cebidae\Cebinae | corn monkey | Andes\Amazonas | ? |
| Ateles paniscus (Linné) (!) | Cebidae\Atelinae | marimonda | mid and low Amazon valley (!) | ? specie is maybe A. belzebuth |
| Mazama americana (Erxleben) | Cervidae\Odocoileinae | páramo deer | Neotropic | ? |
| Mazama rufina (Lesson) | Cervidae\Odocoileinae | páramo deer | ? | ? |
| Pudu mephistophiles (De Winton) | Cervidae\Odocoileinae | rabbit deer | North andean: N Ecuador- S Colombia | ? |
| Tapirus pinchaque (Roulin) | Tapiridae | páramo tapir | North andean: N Ecuador- Colombia | threatened |
Birds
With 296 registered species to the date.
Environmental issues
- Settlements for agriculture and cattle; timber industry and hunting
- Illegal crops such as coca and opium poppy (heroin)
References
- INDERENA, 1984. Colombia. Parques Nacionales. Fondo para la Protección del Medio Ambiente José Celestino Mutis. FEN Colombia. Bogotá. 264 pp.
- Grzimek, Bernhard, 1979. Tierleben. Enzyklopädie des Tierreiches. Band 4-13 (Fische, Lurche, Kriechtiere, Vögel und Säugetiere). DTV. München. ISBN 3-423-03206-5
External links
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