Fauna of Colombia

Colombia has the largest number of endemism’s (species that are not found naturally anywhere else) worldwide. About 10% of the species in the world live in Colombia. Some determinant factors in the distribution range of the species are the weather conditions, temperature, humidity and sunlight availability. * Birds Over 1800 species of birds have been described in Colombia, (more than the number of existent bird species in North America and Europe, combined). The Andean condor inhabits the Andes mountain range. Although it is primarily a scavenger, feeding on carrion, this species belongs to the New World vulture family Cathartidae.

* Mammals There are 456 reported species of mammals in Colombia. [3] Of these, about 22% are endangered or critically endangered. Most of the threatened species status are due to human activities, in particular destruction of plant and animal habitats driven by local consumption of organic resources, especially related to tropical forest destruction.[4]While most of the species that are becoming extinct are not food species, their biomass is converted into human food when their habitat is transformed into pasture and cropland.

* Mollusks There are more than 80 genera of land gastropods in (continental) Colombia.

*Flora of Colombia The Flora of Colombia is characterized by a high biodiversity, with the highest rate of species by area unit worldwide. Over 130.000 species of plants have been described within Colombian territory .The national flower of Colombia is the orchid Cattleya trianae which was named after the Colombian naturalist José Jerónimo Triana. The orchid was selected by botanist Emilio Robledo, in representation of the Colombian Academy of History to determine the most representative flowering plant of Colombia. He described it as one of the most beautiful flowers in the world and selected Cattleya trianae as National symbol