Amazing wildlife in Amazonas

The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about 6,915,000 km2 (2,670,000 sq mi), or roughly 40 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. Most of the basin is covered by the Amazon rainforest, also known as Amazonia. With a 5,500,000 km2 (2,100,000 sq mi) area of dense tropical forest, this is the largest rainforest in the world.

In Colombia, Amazonas is a department in the south of the country. Its capital is Leticia. Its name comes from the Amazon River that drains much in the department and the rainforest that covers a large part of the department.

The Amazon contains millions of species, most of them still undescribed, and some of the world’s most unusual wildlife. It is one of Earth’s last refuges for jaguars, harpy eagles and pink dolphins, and home to thousands of birds and butterflies. Tree-dwelling species include southern two-toed sloths, pygmy marmosets, saddleback and emperor tamarins, and Goeldi’s monkeys. The diversity of the region is staggering:

>> 40,000 plant species
>> 3,000 freshwater fish species
>> more than 370 types of reptiles

In  Amazonas department of Colombia, especially striking is the amazing amount of animals, birds, insects and reptiles so colorful and impressive that you can discover visiting the area. See here some pictures that Katharina Diekmann and myself could take during our trip in the region…

Written by Laura Sancho