Pedro Szekely / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
<p>High above the Argentinian plains, an Andean <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/condors">condor</a> (<em>Vultur gryphus</em>) — one of the world's largest flying <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/birds" rel="noopener noreferrer">bird</a> species — catches the distinctive aroma of decaying flesh on the wind. It's quickly joined by other condors, perhaps a dozen or more, who start circling in the familiar pattern of all carrion-loving <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/vultures" rel="noopener noreferrer">vultures</a>.<em></em></p>
<p>Soon the massive condors spy the source of the delicious smell: a dead sheep or goat lying in a field. The hungry birds quickly angle in for descent, land around the body and begin to feed, tearing into the skin and meat with their sharp beaks.</p><p>Then the condors also begin to die.</p><p>At first they appear merely disoriented. Then they start to stumble, convulse and fall around the dead sheep. A few may try to fly, flapping mighty wings that span 10 feet — only to crash to the ground just a few yards away.</p><p>Eventually the field is littered with dead condors. Few, if any, escape.</p><p>This gruesome scene has played out several times in Argentina in recent years. In one incident that made worldwide headlines, <a href="https://www.birdlife.org/worldwide/news/34-andean-condors-found-dead-argentina-poisoning-needs-stop" target="_blank">34 Andean condors</a> died at a single site in 2018 — a major blow to a species with an estimated population of just 6,700 mature individuals, about 2,500 of which live in Argentina.</p>
<p>What's killing these birds? Tragically, it's a case of persecution by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pesticides">pesticide</a>. Livestock owners who needlessly fear the imposing condors — which only eat carrion (not live prey) — attract the birds with dead sheep and other animals laced with powerful, illegal neurotoxin pesticides such as carbofuran and parathion. They know that anything that eats the carcasses will quickly die — in theory, leaving the rest of nearby livestock "safe" from predators.</p><p>Andean condors aren't the only target. Farmers also use the pesticide-laden bodies to lure in pumas, foxes, lynx, eagles and other predators that really do occasionally prey upon livestock.</p><p>But it's condors that have been hit hardest by the practice. A new paper published Jan. 15 in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320719311450?dgcid=rss_sd_all" target="_blank">Biological Conservation</a> calls the poisonings "the greatest threat to the Andean condor."</p><p>"We conclude that this problem can lead to the extinction of the species if we do not take action urgently," says the paper's lead author, Carlos I. Piña, a biologist with Universidad Autonoma de Entre Rios.</p>
<p>Piña and his fellow researchers — Rayen Estrada Pachecoab, N. Luis Jácome, Vanesa Astore and Carlos E. Borghi — studied 301 birds treated or collected by the Andean Condor Rescue Center in Argentina between 2001 and 2018. Using records and necropsies, they identified 21 poisoning events in Argentina that killed a total of 99 condors — 77 deaths in 2017 and 2018 alone (the paper does not include data from 2019). They also identified another 29 incidents of possible poisoning. In some cases the rescue center located birds suffering symptoms of poisoning that died a few hours after discovery.</p><p>The researchers also found that the poisonings occur throughout Argentina, have increased in frequency since the beginning of 2017, and now represent 79 percent of deaths reported to the rescue center.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjY1NzI2NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzODgxMTQzOX0.9yxetJmtT3MvEOvFjlwniBeQ7OZKuQkGA8DfBG9P4SQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="ea6b1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1e128a5f2f0cd3d25828b95107123d44" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
An Andean condor in the conservation breeding program at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh. John R. Platt / The Revelator / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
<p>The deaths are particularly alarming because condors already face a range of other threats, including illegal hunting, lead poisoning (similar to <a href="https://therevelator.org/saving-california-condors/" target="_blank">California condors</a>) and collisions with power lines.</p><p>On top of that, their populations grow slowly under the best of circumstances.</p><p>"Condors have a very low reproductive rate," Piña explains. They don't reach sexual maturity until they're 9 or 10 years old, and then they only nest every two years and raise a single chick at a time.</p><p>It's now likely that more Andean condors are dying than are being born.</p><p>"These deaths occur at a rate and on a scale that does not allow the natural recovery of individuals to the population," says Piña.</p><p>And it's not just the condors being killed. The bodies of animals from eight other species have been found near dead condors, according to the paper. These include American black vultures (<em>Coragyps atratus</em>), kelp gull (<em>Larus dominicanus</em>), Molina's hog-nosed skunks (<em>Conepatus chinga</em>) and pumas (<em>Puma concolor</em>).</p><p>The poisons are also potentially harmful to humans. "There are oral records of cases of people poisoned by the placement of these poisons," Piña says. This poses a risk for officials tasked with cleaning up kill sites. The EPA links acute short-term <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2016-09/documents/parathion.pdf" target="_blank">parathion exposure</a> to central nervous disorders, depressed red blood cell activity, nausea and other health risks.</p><p>And then there's the big picture: the environmental cost of not having condors on the landscape if this problem persists.</p><p>"Vultures occupy a fundamental role in the ecosystem, since they eliminate the carcasses of dead animals which, if not removed, become sources of infection and can affect human health," Piña says. "They're like great natural cleaners."</p><p>In additional to fulfilling that ecological role, condors also have cultural importance.</p><p>"For the native peoples of South America, it is the sacred bird that connects the world we live in with the cosmos," Piña says. "We see condors on the emblems, shields and flags of the Andean countries. The loss of these birds also represents a great cultural loss for our society."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjY1NzI2Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1ODQ0OTYzMX0.pldIubBLXgWTXamxg3tAwxMIRlBcuTLrEE4aAzWFQFc/img.jpg?width=980" id="2f9d2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="77cbdb290e716332cca3aed7310e98b3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
An Andean condor spreads its wings at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh. John R. Platt / The Revelator / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
<p>With the condors fulfilling so many important roles, and the frequency of poisonings increasing, how do we solve this problem?</p><p>Piña and his fellow researchers recommend a three-tier approach.</p><p>The first involves educating livestock owners about the importance of condors and the health risks from the pesticides. "We believe that working on education about the dangerousness of the use of these toxic baits is one of the lines of action needed to address this problem," Piña says.</p><p>That won't solve everything, he acknowledges, because some people already know the poisons are dangerous but use them anyway.</p><p>That brings us to the second solution: protecting livestock. "It's essential to find ways to reduce predation without affecting environmental health," Piña says. "An example could be the incorporation of cattle protection dogs, which have been shown to considerably reduce predation in Patagonia Argentina." The researchers have started studies with cattle breeders to understand various techniques already in use in different parts of the country, as well as how ranchers perceive livestock losses they experience.</p><p>The third tier involves the law. These pesticides are already illegal — parathion was banned in Argentina in 1993, and a new law banning carbofuran and four other pesticides went into effect this past October — but they're widely used anyway. Piña says adding one more law could help address that. "We believe that it would be better to have a national law on traceability and prescription of agrochemicals so that their trade is regulated, and sales of these products are under a professional's prescription," he says. "This way the easy access of these products would be diminished a little."</p><p>Argentina, meanwhile, isn't taking the problem lightly. In addition to the recent pesticide bans, the country and a partner foundation recently launched the <a href="https://www.argentina.gob.ar/ambiente/biodiversidad/estrategia-nacional-contra-uso-cebos-toxicos" target="_blank">Estrategia Nacional contra Cebos Tóxicos</a> (National Strategy Against Poisoned Carrion). "The [program] aims to improve the detection and treatment of cases of poisoning, minimizing the risk to personnel involved in these processes," Piña reports. "The plan also aims to generate a more precise knowledge of the sites of greatest conflict in order to guide conservation efforts and community outreach and education."</p><p>A lot of work remains to be done to save the Andean condor from this emerging threat, but with more than 1 percent of all Andean condors killed since 2017, researchers say it's time for Argentina — and perhaps neighboring countries — to act. Otherwise the great birds may become just another faint waft of death on the wind.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/pesticides-andean-condor/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- Ecuador Announces New National Park in the Andes - EcoWatch ›
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Birth of 1,000th California Condor Chick Is a Sign of Hope for This Critically Endangered Species
22 July 2019
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California Condor at soaring at the Grand Canyon. Pavliha / iStock / Getty Images
North America's largest bird passed an important milestone this spring when the 1,000th California condor chick hatched since recovery efforts began, NPR reported Sunday.
<p>The critically <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> was down to just 22 birds in the early 1980s, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/17/overwhelming-joy-birth-of-california-condor-chicks-marks-soaring-comeback" target="_blank">according to The Guardian</a>. The remaining birds were placed in a captive breeding program in 1987 and slowly reintroduced beginning in the early 1990s. The birth of the 1,000th bird highlights the success of this program in saving the species from extinction.</p>
<p>"We're seeing more chicks born in the wild than we ever have before," <a href="https://www.peregrinefund.org/" target="_blank">Peregrine Fund</a> condor program manager Tim Hauck told NPR's Scott Simon. "And that's just a step towards success for the condor and achieving a sustainable population."</p>
<div id="6c0d5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="XM1KNR1580847126"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1149726132024950785" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The California Condor Recovery Program just confirmed its 1000th chick! This is the mood at our breeding center https://t.co/KmVI4NAmCY</div> — Oregon Zoo (@Oregon Zoo)<a href="https://twitter.com/OregonZoo/statuses/1149726132024950785">1562951045.0</a></blockquote></div><p>There are now more than 500 California condors alive worldwide, with more than 300 of them in the wild, Hauck said.</p><p>The 1,000th chick was born in Utah's Zion National Park, <a href="https://www.nps.gov/zion/learn/news/condor-recovery-program-confirms-1000th-chick.htm" target="_blank">park biologists announced July 9</a>. The egg was likely laid in March, and the new baby emerged in May. But scientists were only able to confirm the birth in July because condors, like other raptors, build their nests in steep cliffs, Zion biologist Janice Stroud-Settles explained to The Guardian. Researchers had to rappel off a cliff across from the nest to snap a photo of the new baby.</p><p>"When we confirmed it … it was just this feeling of overwhelming joy," Stroud-Settles said.</p>
<div id="7f924" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="K33LC11580847126"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1149743006104182784" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Congrats to recovery program partners and wildlife advocates everywhere on reaching 1,000 California condor chicks!… https://t.co/Vy6EkjEd5A</div> — Don Moore (@Don Moore)<a href="https://twitter.com/drdonmooreiii/statuses/1149743006104182784">1562955068.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The birth of a 1,001st chick was also confirmed this month in a nest near the north rim of the Grand Canyon, according to The Guardian.<br></p><p>The condor population was decimated during the 20th century due to hunting, habitat loss and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/lead" target="_self">lead</a> poisoning from bullets left in the dead animals the condors would scavenge for food. Lead bullets still pose a threat; the mother of the 1,000th chick lost her first mate to lead poisoning in 2016, according to Zion National Park. She has been with the new hatchling's father for two years.</p><p>In an attempt to protect condors and other <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a>. California <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/california-becomes-first-state-to-ban-lead-hunting-ammunition-1881801545.html" target="_self">became the first state</a> to ban lead hunting ammunition in 2013, but the law just entered into effect this month.</p><p>In Utah and Arizona, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservationists</a> are working with hunters to voluntarily reduce their use of lead ammunition, Peregrine Fund global conservation director Chris Parish told The Guardian.</p><p>"People aren't inclined to follow rules they don't understand, so here in Utah and Arizona we're focusing on education and explaining to hunters why it's important to cut down on lead bullets," Parish said.</p><p>California condors roamed much of the North American continent 40,000 years ago, feeding on the remains of mammoths and giant sloths, according to Zion National Park. They now only live in Arizona, California, Utah and northern Mexico. They have a wingspan of 10 feet and live up to 60 years, the longest of any bird species, NPR reported. They were considered sacred by Native American groups.</p>
<div id="8f798" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="K3O0NT1580847126"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1151514564183416833" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">DYK: The #California #condor is the largest #bird in North America & can live up to 60 years. The population once r… https://t.co/uX5Y0rSPBh</div> — Defenders of Wildlife (@Defenders of Wildlife)<a href="https://twitter.com/Defenders/statuses/1151514564183416833">1563377440.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The 1,000th chick should be ready to fledge, or fly on its own, in November. Its mother lost her first two chicks, according to The Guardian, the first in a failed attempt to fledge and the second when the death of her first mate impacted her ability to care for the baby.<br></p><p>"Now that she's re-coupled with a new mate, we're hoping this chick will successfully fledge once it's old enough to fly–sometime in the fall," Stroud-Settles said.</p>
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A red wolf. Taya Johnston / iStock / Getty Images
EcoWatch has long documented attempts by the Trump administration's Interior Department to weaken Endangered Species Act protections, but what does that mean for individual species? That is the question the Endangered Species Coalition set out to answer in a new report, which outlines how President Donald Trump's proposed policies could impact 10 vulnerable animal species.
<p>"The Interior Department under President Trump has been especially cozy with the industries that are harming the very <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> the Department is supposed to protect," Endangered Species Coalition Executive Director Leda Huta <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/media/2018/181218-1" target="_blank">told</a> the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>. "If the administration has its way, the new regulations will put these species on a fast track to extinction."</p><p>The report, published Tuesday, looks at how the administration's proposed weakening of the Endangered Species Act, as well as existing policies, would harm the 10 species. The featured animals were chosen by a group of scientists from a pool of nominations submitted by Endangered Species Coalition member groups. Here is just some of the amazing <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" target="_self">biodiversity</a> now at risk.</p><p><strong>1. California Condor</strong></p><p>The California condor is the largest land bird in North America, with a wingspan stretching 10 feet. It is also critically endangered, with fewer than 300 left in the wild. The greatest cause of death for the condor in the wild is <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/lead" target="_self">lead</a> poisoning from tainted carrion, which kills more condors than all other causes combined. That is why it is so catastrophic that former Interior Secretary <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ryan-zinke" target="_self">Ryan Zinke</a> rolled back an Obama-era rule banning lead ammunition in condor habitat.<br></p><p><strong>2. Leatherback and Loggerhead Sea Turtles</strong></p><p>Both of these migratory <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-turtles" target="_self">sea turtles</a> are extremely vulnerable to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/lead" target="_self">climate change</a> and could lose their nesting grounds to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-level-rise" target="_self">sea level rise</a> and storm surges. However, new language around climate change proposed by the Interior Department could make it harder to protect habitat threatened by it. One provision would allow other agencies to take actions in areas that the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service has concluded will be lost to climate change anyway without consulting the agency responsible for protecting <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a>.<br></p><p><strong>3. Red Wolves</strong></p><p>Red wolves are <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/red-wolf-endangered-2563600067.html" target="_blank">extremely endangered</a>. Less than 30 remain in their only wild habitat in North Carolina. But a new regulation could allow for them to be delisted all together on the basis of new information, even though scientists have yet to make any conclusive determinations about their genetics.<br></p><p><strong>4. Hellbender</strong></p><p>The hellbender, a type of salamander, is the largest amphibian outside of Asia. It is a major health indicator for the streams it lives in, since its health suffers in polluted water. It is under consideration for endangered species status, but a regulation allowing officials to consider economic as well as scientific factors could mean that it does not make it onto the list. Industries like logging, mining and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_blank">fossil fuel</a> extraction might argue it would cost them too much not to pollute streams.<br></p><p><strong>5. Giraffes</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/giraffes" target="_blank">Giraffes</a> have lost 30 percent of their population in 30 years, but the Trump administration has ignored a petition to afford them endangered species protections. Instead, Zinke's Interior Department has created an <a href="https://www.fws.gov/iwcc/" target="_blank">International Wildlife Conservation Council</a> that promotes trophy hunting, putting large African mammals like giraffes further at risk.<br></p><p><strong>6. Humboldt Marten</strong></p><p>Humboldt martens were believed extinct until 1996, and now there are fewer than 400 left in the wild. But the Trump administration only proposed listing them under the Endangered Species Act when the court ordered them to, and then proposed listing them only as threatened. Threatened and endangered species used to receive the same protections under the act, but the Trump administration has proposed to change this, meaning the rare mammal might not get the protections it needs to survive.<br></p><p><strong>7. Rusty Patched Bumble Bee</strong></p><p>This bee was the first to be listed as endangered after it disappeared from nearly 90 percent of its historic range. But new administration regulations would prioritize protecting habitat that species currently occupy, meaning it would be harder to protect the bee's historic range in order to help it recover.<br></p><p><strong>8. West Indian Manatee</strong></p><p>The West Indian manatee is especially threatened by the rise in red tides, algae blooms and pollution, but the Trump administration has downgraded them from endangered to threatened. Manatees also live in scattered populations throughout their range, but new regulations would mean that an impact to an endangered or threatened species only has to be considered if it occurs throughout the animals' range, so a pollutant impacting one population pocket but not another would not be considered.<br></p><p><strong>9. San Bernardino Kangaroo Rat</strong></p><p>These four-inch, hopping rodents get all of their moisture from certain plants and have their reproduction stimulated by certain amounts of green vegetation. This balance is thrown off by human development in their Southern California habitat, and Trump administration regulations that would reduce the amount of communication required between agencies ahead of new developments like roads could further throw them off balance.<br></p><p><strong>10. Western Yellow-Billed Cuckoo</strong></p><p>This migratory bird species is declining due to habitat loss and was listed as endangered in 2014. However, its critical habitat hasn't been designated yet, and a separate campaign is underway to delist it all together. A new Trump administration rule would facilitate this by allowing species to be delisted before meeting all the goals in their recovery plans.<br></p>
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The Río Negro-Sopladora National Park hosts 344 species of vascular plants. Wilson Romero
By Valeria Sorgato
On Jan. 23, a new national park joined Ecuador's 54 protected areas. Río Negro-Sopladora National Park lies in southern Ecuador's Morona Santiago and Azuay provinces within the Cordillera Real Oriental mountain range and next to Sangay National Park. The area is dominated by almost-intact Andean páramos—treeless alpine plateaus—and forests that are home to a great variety of animal and plant species.
<p>Because of the region's biological and hydrological importance, Ecuador's Ministry of the Environment and the non-governmental organization Nature and Culture International (NCI) signed an agreement in 2017 to incorporate 30,616 hectares of the Río Negro-Sopladora area into the state-owned Heritage Natural Areas Subsystem and the National System of Protected Areas Project in Ecuador. On Jan. 23 in the city of Macas, in Morona Santiago Province, Minister of the Environment Tarsicio Granizo declared the new national park in front of 300 guests.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzE4MzAwOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MzExMTgyMn0.4dPBSP51txkVJihVFQ3NR8KsY5TS0gkDbO9D80L-qxs/img.jpg?width=980" id="7dc4c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c50fc7c07c2d1c5e1d1517ea94e97fa5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Fabián Rodas</small></p><p>Since 1971, Río Negro-Sopladora has been protected under the category of Protected Forests and Vegetation Areas of the Paute River Basin. According to Fabián Rodas, coordinator of the NCI's Austro program, this is "a very weak <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation">conservation</a> category."<br></p><p>Between Sangay National Park and Podocarpus National Park, which are <a href="https://es.mongabay.com/?s=areas+naturales+protegidas" target="_blank">both areas with global implications</a> for the conservation of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity">biodiversity</a>, there are 160 kilometers (about 100 miles) of almost-unprotected land. "During the last few years, an area with gaps in conservation has been identified," said Rodas. The new national park is envisioned as a key piece that will connect municipal reserves to the two national parks. Additionally, according to biologist Eduardo Toral, the newly declared park functions as a corridor that connects the páramos to forests at the bottom of the mountains.</p><p>There are very few places in the Ecuadorian Andes that have remained relatively untouched by humans. Río Negro-Sopladora is one of those places. Ranchers have been prevented from <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/farming">farming</a> there due to the area's rugged topography, rainy climate and elevations that vary from 800 to 3,902 meters (2,625 to 12,800 feet) above sea level.</p><p>One of the few remnants of human activity in this area is a 45-kilometer (28-mile) trail that was used for commercial exchanges between the Andes and the Amazon by the pre-Columbian Cañari and Ashuarc cultures. Mónica Pesantes, from NCI and the leader of the Study of Management Alternatives for the new national park, says that the trail was reopened 102 years ago for religious purposes by Padre Albino del Curto. Once every year in November, locals and tourists complete a Catholic pilgrimage on the trail, beginning in Sevilla de Oro and ending in Copal.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzE4MzAxNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NjIyMzQ4Mn0.kmOeH4vxGKyqH0kX9Hz65AJwOg_lejfUXGuqtNIenag/img.jpg?width=980" id="06dd6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3d65c62a2a2e5c23b54812cd98642da2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Heliangelus amethysticollis is one of the 136 species of birds recorded by the first biological evaluation of the area.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Fabián Rodas</small></p><p>The other mark of human presence in the area, which is now more controllable, is the threat of mining. According to Rodas, the area is very rich in minerals. However, NCI was able to facilitate an agreement with the government to declare the area as a national park before large mining concessions were allocated in the area. But Rodas says that they did have to exclude one mining concession located in the southern part of what is now the national park, because it had already been surrendered for mining.<br></p><p>With the declaration of this area as a national park, the extraction of non-renewable resources will not be allowed without permission from Ecuador's president or the National Assembly, in accordance with Article 25 of Ecuador's Mining Law.</p><p><strong>An Area of High Biodiversity</strong></p><p>In July 2017, biologist Eduardo Toral and his team from NCI entered the unexplored forests of Río Negro-Sopladora. In only 12 days, they discovered three new species of amphibian: a frog, a salamander and a caecilian. This expedition formed part of the biological evaluation required to declare the area as a national park.</p><p>The results of the evaluation showed that the area still holds ecosystems in an excellent natural state with a significant number of species, many of which are endemic, threatened or rare. The researchers say there may be yet more undiscovered species in the new park.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzE4MzAyNy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0OTEwMzA2N30.0bN6dDN1B3uFUsxP-cgFK1Q96DtdHLwDxNJ61A9GPEc/img.jpg?width=980" id="8e74b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="43574c58c46e9f462fb4de8b00d31483" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">Forty-three species of mammals have been recorded within the new national park.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Fabián Rodas</small></p><p>Among the four types of Andean forest and the two types of páramos that are found within the new Río Negro-Sopladora National Park, there are 344 species of vascular plants—one of which the researchers think could be new to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/science/">science</a>. They also registered 136 species of birds such as Andean condors, 23 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 43 species of mammals like Andean bears and tapirs. Rodas even suspects that they could find jaguars in the park.<br></p><p>"It's very probable that this is the first biological investigation in this area," said Rodas, referring to the biological investigation that was carried out to declare the protected area. Because of its inaccessibility, the scientific community does not know much about Río Negro-Sopladora National Park.</p><p><strong>New Species</strong></p><p>Biologist Eduardo Toral discussed how they discovered the new frog, salamander and snake species. For example, the team found a seven-centimeter green frog hiding under a rock on a riverbank after hearing its call. "When we found it, we knew it was something new. It belongs to a group that is being discovered," Toral said.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
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<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The new frog belongs to the Hyloscirtus genus. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Eduardo Toral-Contreras</small></p><p>Next, they discovered a new species of salamander. Normally, these amphibians are small and live at altitudes below 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) above sea level. When Toral and his team found a salamander in the area, they realized that it must be a new species because it measured 10 centimeters and was living at an altitude of 1,500 meters (4,920 feet).</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzE4MzA0MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMzk1NTgxNH0.SpNSPtSSQ8NFff_r9eqwbfS71Ks1JrBSRLA_FtY53vQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="a9fd0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1b555ac9d95865eb2db45e1cdbfdc539" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The new salamander is a member of the Bolitoglossa genus. Salamanders of this genus don't have lungs, breathing instead through their skin and the tissue that lines their mouths. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Eduardo Toral-Contreras</small></p><p>Toral also remembers how on that day in Río Negro-Sopladora, it felt like the sky was going to collapse. It rained all day, which removed earth from the forest floor. Near the Padre Albino del Curto Trail, they saw a snake-like creature gliding across the muddy land. The rain had forced the animal out of its underground home. Toral said that as soon as they saw the creature, they tried to catch it. These legless, blind amphibians are known as caecilians. "These <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/animals/">animals</a> are very rarely found. The only caecilian similar to the one we found is on the western side of Ecuador, in the depression towards the coast. We found the new species on the other side," Toral said.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzE4MzA1Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNzMyMDk3OX0.o5wk3RmsOlMrdt46Y3JrM53tmnHjNsxCFzU1CLCKEC8/img.jpg?width=980" id="152e2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="aa2627880b02ee560cae0bd5dc58bae8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="Add Photo Caption...">The new caecilian is a member of the Epicrionops genus, which scientists think is one one the most primitive caecilian genera. Unlike other caecilians, Epicrionops species still have tails. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Eduardo Toral-Contreras</small></p><p><strong>Hydrological Importance</strong><br></p><p>The Río Negro that runs through the new national park forms part of the Río Paute Basin, which supplies the Paute Integral hydroelectric system. This system delivers 1,757 megawatts of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/hydropower">hydroelectric energy</a> to surrounding communities, according to the Electric Corporation of Ecuador.</p><p>The region's <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/rivers">rivers</a> also provide <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/water">water</a> for local human populations. The preservation of hydrological resources is an important motivation for these communities for protecting the forests, according to Rodas. For instance, the area's Sangay-Podocarpus Corridor project promotes the creation of municipal reserves to connect Sangay National Park with Podocarpus National Park via a corridor of natural protected areas. "With the environmental services that the ecosystem presents us, we can achieve the best interests of the local communities," Rodas said.</p><p>Due to efforts by local communities, researchers, NCI, the <a href="https://www.andesamazonfund.org" target="_blank">Andes Amazon Fund</a>, and the Ecuadorian government—particularly the Ministry of the Environment—Río Negro-Sopladora National Park has received the highest conservation category status in the country.<br></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/02/ecuador-announces-a-new-national-park-in-the-andes/" target="_blank">Mongabay</a>.</em><br></p>
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