The project is located in a very special biodiversity hotspot that extends from the lowland Chocó Eco-region across the continental divide, and down the Eastern Andean versant. At least 70 percent is cloud forests and the rest is grasslands.  Like coral reefs and glaciers, the tropical Andes are among the most vulnerable to the dual impacts of climate change and human population pressures. As our planet’s climate systems continue to be altered, it is very likely that some or many of the species found in cloud forests will be lost forever.

Sadly, Colombia’s forests have become fragmented and degraded as agriculture moves up the mountainside and penetrates deeper into the lowlands, encroaching on the solitude. The effects of climate change are already apparent here. As a result, many cloud forest species have started to migrate upslope to maintain a favorable climate. However, their routes are often blocked by a degraded and fragmented landscape. 

The clouds forests of Colombia’s Western Andes host an overwhelming number of plant, amphibian, bird, and insect species.  Efforts to catalog this incredible biodiversity have barely scratched the surface.  The words “endemic” and “new to science” are frequently used to describe the array of species here. With so many endemic species in the region, protecting them here is almost synonymous with preventing their global extinction. These species are one of the important beneficiaries of our work, as are the other threatened species in the region.

328 Birds Species.  This high altitude cloud forest is a bird watcher’s paradise, with 328 colorful species fluttering through the mountain peaks.  Hummingbirds abound here, with 34 different species, 14 of which are IUCN Red Listed threatened species.  Living high in the clouds are 11 species of threatened birds — three of which are critically endangered. – the yellow-eared parrot (Ognorhynchus icterotis), munchique wood-wren (Henicorhina negreti), and the dusky starfront (coeligena orina).  The starfront is a glorious hummingbird that was only recently discovered and is already threatened with extinction. There are also 43 species of tanagers and 40 species of flycatcher.

183 Mammal Species , including the spectacled bear (tremarctos ornasus), olinguito (Bassaricyon neblina), and pumas (Puma concolor).

3,000 Plant Species, including 200 species of orchids, many of which are new to science and still being cataloged.

300 Arthropod Species. The diversity of arthropods is mind-boggling. The ambitious work to identify and catalog them is underway.

What is exceptional about our project area in Colombia’s Western Andes are the numbers of recently described and rediscovered species. (This was a part of Colombia where violence once precluded exploration). One of our most important realizations is that when we protect biodiversity hotspots, we protect species sometimes unknown to science. We can’t help but wonder what other wondrous creatures may be found here.

Olinguito
It’s not often that science discovers a new species of carnivore. In fact, it hadn’t happened in South America for 35 years. That is, until a team of scientists from the Smithsonian and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences discovered the olinguito (Bassaricyon neblina) in 2015. Subsequently, Dr. Roland Kays1, an expert on olinguito biology, described this amazing new species in a scientific paper.

As anticipated, this news captivated the world! However, the discovery was even more exciting for Saving Nature when we learned olinguito lives in our project area – the precariously delicate cloud forests of the Western Andes! Interestingly, these remote forests are some of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. However, they’re also among the most threatened as development, logging, mining, and other harmful extraction activities are systematically destroying them.

Saving Nature had actually been working to save the olinguito for years–without even realizing it! At first, we set-out to save an ecosystem rich in biodiversity, including countless plants and animals. In doing so, we are protecting the olinguito at the same time–and perhaps other species eluding humans and science.

We are now focusing on helping conserve the olinguito. As a result of our efforts to connect, protect, and restore the cloud forests, there will be additional safe habitat for olinguitos and other endemic and threatened species. Furthermore, the land will support a larger population, increasing genetic diversity to improve the long-term conservation prospects for the species.

Amphibians & Reptiles
In addition to finding this new amazing new carnivore deep in the project’s cloud forests, experts also discovered and scientifically described nine new species of frogs, including Cassidy’s poison dart frog, Andinobates cassidyhornae, and, as yet, several undescribed species of reptiles.

Orchids
An that’s not all!  Over 100 species of orchids have been found blooming high in the peaks of the mist-covered mountains of Colombia’s cloud forests.  Already, the orchid discoveries to date include six species in the genera Elleanthus, Telipogon, Stelis and Pleurothallis. Another incredible find among this abundance of orchids is a new rust speckled orchid. Intriguingly, its  long, dangling tendrils, evoke of the fangs of its eponymous genera Dracula. 

Birds
Last, but not least is the discovery of a hummingbird.  This is also the area where our partner rediscovered the hummingbird, critically endangered Coeligena orina, once only known from a museum specimen. 

Consistent with our operating philosophy of building local capacity for long-term success, we partnered with Fundación Bioconservancy, a Colombia-based NGO that has been leading conservation efforts in the region for over a decade. Together, we defined the broader regional strategy, ongoing management plans, and key performance indicators. Since launching the project, we’ve made significant gains in connecting, protecting, and restoring fragmented forest areas. 

We are connecting a 100,000 hectares of forest with our wildlife corridor.  We have already seen species such as pumas and ocelots reclaim their habitat.  Saving Nature is working with the Fundacion Bioconservancy to protect, connect, and restore the most important areas for biodiversity. In doing so, we’ll help create a large protected area for endemic and threatened species from the east and west. Restoring the forest from degraded land will also soak up a lot of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere — this is a warm, wet place where trees grow quickly. By the same token, heavy rainfall on steep mountain slopes means these areas erode quickly once they lose their forests.