Fauna of Colombia facts for kids

The pink dolphin of the Amazon River is an endangered species.

Colombia is a country with an amazing variety of animals! This huge number of different animal species is called high biodiversity. In fact, Colombia has more species per area than any other country in the world.

Animals Found Only in Colombia
- Special Areas for Endemic Animals
Protecting Colombia's Animals
Birds of Colombia
- Colombia's National Bird
Mammals of Colombia
Amphibians of Colombia
Reptiles of Colombia
Fish of Colombia
Insects of Colombia
See also

Animals Found Only in Colombia

Colombia is home to the largest number of endemic species. Endemic means these animals are found naturally nowhere else on Earth. About 10% of all the species in the world live in Colombia! Things like weather, temperature, humidity, and how much sunlight is available help decide where these special animals live.

Because endemic animals live in very specific places, they can easily become endangered (meaning they are at risk of disappearing forever) or even extinct. This often happens because of human activities, like destroying their homes or bringing in new animals that don't belong there.

Special Areas for Endemic Animals

The Colombian Ministry of Environment has identified some areas with the most unique species:

Cocora valley in Quindío
Serranía de la Macarena in Meta Department
Gorgona, Colombia, an island in the Pacific Ocean
Amacayacu National Park in Amazonas Department

Protecting Colombia's Animals

Sadly, many animals in Colombia face challenges. The biggest problem is the destruction of their homes. When forests are cut down or land is changed for farms, animals lose their living spaces and food. This is why many species become endangered.

Birds of Colombia

The White-throated toucan lives in the Amazon Basin.

A Channel-billed toucan.

The colorful Emerald toucanet.

The Northern helmeted curassow lives in the Cordillera Oriental, Colombia mountains.

The Andean cock-of-the-rock lives in Andean cloud forests.

Oilbirds can be seen in Cueva de los Guacharos National Park.

A male rufous-tailed jacamar.

The beautiful Collared inca hummingbird.

The Giant hummingbird is one of the largest hummingbirds.

The Long-billed starthroat.

A Mourning dove.

The White-crowned pigeon.

A Green jay.

A Tree swallow.

The Townsend's warbler.

A Blue-grey tanager.

The White-throated tinamou.

Colombia is a birdwatcher's paradise! More than 1,800 different kinds of birds have been found here. That's more than all the bird species in North America and Europe put together!

Some of the amazing bird species you might find in Colombia include:

Colombia's National Bird

The Andean condor is the national bird of Colombia.

The Andean condor is Colombia's national bird. It lives in the Andes mountain range. This huge bird is mostly a scavenger, meaning it eats dead animals. It belongs to the New World vulture family.

The condor is one of the largest flying birds on Earth. Its wingspan can be up to 3.1 meters (about 10 feet) wide! Males can weigh up to 15 kg (33 pounds). Adult condors are mostly black, but they have a fluffy white collar of feathers around their neck. Males also have large white patches on their wings.

Mammals of Colombia

Colombia has 456 known types of mammals. Sadly, about 22% of these are endangered or critically endangered. This is mostly because humans are destroying their homes, especially by cutting down tropical forests.

Colombia has the most land mammal species in the world. Here are some of them:

The spectacled bear is a rare mammal.
A Southern tamandua.
A Coppery titi monkey.
A West Indian manatee.
A Black-mantled tamarin.
A Three-striped night monkey.
A Jaguarundi.

A Hoffmann's two-toed sloth.

An Eastern cottontail rabbit.

A Pale spear-nosed bat.

Some other mammals found in Colombia include:

Interestingly, Colombia also has a wild population of hippos! These hippos came from Pablo Escobar's personal zoo. When the zoo was closed, most animals were sent back to their natural homes, but the hippos stayed. Some escaped and now live in Colombia's main river, the Magdalena. No one knows exactly how many there are, but estimates in 2020 were between 40 and 60 hippos.

Amphibians of Colombia

Colombia has the most amphibians in the world! This group includes frogs, toads, salamanders, and caecilians. There are 589 known species here. Sadly, 208 of them are endangered. This makes amphibians the animal group most at risk in Colombia.

Some reasons for their decline include a fungal disease called chytridiomycosis, losing their homes, droughts, and air pollution or water pollution.

The Golden poison frog is the most poisonous animal in the world.
A Fleischmann's glass frog.
An rain frog.
A Kokoe dart frog.
A Harlequin poison frog.
A Giant leaf frog.
A Black-legged dart frog.
A Smokey Jungle Frog.
A Surinam toad.

Reptiles of Colombia

Colombia is also home to many different reptiles, including snakes, lizards, and turtles.

The common lancehead snake.
A fer-de-lance snake.
A Green anaconda.
An Emerald tree boa.
A Boa constrictor.
An Amazon tree boa.
A Eyelash viper.
A Black-and-green palm pitviper.
A South American rattlesnake.
A Bushmaster snake.
A pelagic sea snake.
A Green iguana.
A Hawksbill sea turtle.
A Cuvier's dwarf caiman.
An Orinoco crocodile.
A Spectacled caiman.
A Black caiman.
A Mata mata turtle.
A Red-footed tortoise.
A Common snapping turtle.
A gold tegu lizard.

Fish of Colombia

Colombia has a very high diversity of fish. In 2017, it was estimated that there were 1,494 species of freshwater fish. A recent study in 2019 found 513 known species in the Caquetá River and 148 in the Caguán River. During this study, eight species were even identified as possibly new to science!

A Ram cichlid.
The Pirarucu is the largest freshwater fish in the world.
A Leporinus obtusidens fish.

Insects of Colombia

Colombia is home to countless insects, from colorful butterflies to unique ants.

A Zebra longwing butterfly.
An Eupalamides guyanensis butterfly.
A Catonephele orites butterfly.
A Catalina orangetip butterfly.
The Atta laevigata ant, also known as Hormiga Culona Santandereana, is eaten in some parts of Colombia (see also Colombian cuisine).