Global News - September 2007

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Columbia sets up national park to protect animals

Tue 18 September 2007 13:15 UK — South America

The Columbian government has announced that it is to set up a new national park to protect a number of the country's rare and endangered animals.

Situated in the remote Andean-Amazon Piedmont region of south-west Colombia, the Serrania de los Churumbelos Auka Wasi National Park will cover 97,180 hectares.

This unique region - marked by extensive forests, swamps, lakes, and wide, barren plains - is home to a host of wildlife.

Creatures which will benefit from the park's protection include Andean bears, tapirs and pumas. In addition, the area is home to 30 species of amphibians, 16 species of reptiles, more than 140 species of butterflies and 461 types of bird.

The park forms part of an important wildlife corridor which stretches from the lowlands of the Amazon Basin to the slopes of the Andean Mountains.

In particular, the park will help with efforts to conserve the threatened Andean bear. These creatures - also known as spectacled bears - are increasingly in danger of extinction from logging and local hunts.

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