| Cueva de los Guacharos | |
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IUCN Category II (National Park)
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 Guacharo (oilbird) |
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| Location | Huila and Caqueta |
|---|---|
| Nearest city | Florencia, Caqueta |
| Coordinates | 1°33′N 76°8′W / 1.55°N 76.133°WCoordinates: 1°33′N 76°8′W / 1.55°N 76.133°W |
| Area | 90.78 km² |
| Established | October 1960 |
| Governing body | National administration of natural parks |
The Cueva de los Guácharos National Park (spanish for cave of oilbirds), created in 1960, is the oldest of the 51 protected areas of Colombia. The park is located in the western face of the Colombian Eastern Andean Range (Cordillera Oriental) in the departments of Huila and Caquetá. It covers an area of 90 km2 corresponding to the karstic zones of the Magdalena and Caquetá Rivers.
The park is intended to protect the cloud forest and páramo ecosystems. This area hosts one of the last intact oak forests in the country (with the native oak species Quercus humboldtii, Bonpland, Fagaceae, and Colombobalanus excelsa, (Lozano, 1979)).
The park was named after the nocturnal guácharo bird (Steatornis caripensis, ordo Caprimulgiformes, family Steatornithidae), which lives in caves in the park.
Contents |
Biodiversity
Research to determine the exact number of species in the area is inadequate for a complete statement. Some recorded species are:
Mammals
| Species | 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 Ateles 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
To date there are 296 registered species in the park.
Environmental issues
Settlements for agriculture and cattle cause problems as well as the timber industry and hunting in the park grounds. Illegal crops such as coca and opium poppy (heroin) are cultivated illegally in the park.
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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