Management, evaluation and care of wildlife in the Department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia

Abstract

The capture and trade of live wild animals is a serious problem in Colombia due to high biodiversity, as well as the management and care in assessment and rehabilitation centers of the animals that are rescued from these illegal activities. The objective of the study was to evaluate the management processes of the wild fauna specimens carried out in the San Emigdio Center for Attention and Assessment of Wild Fauna of the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Valle del Cauca (CAV -CVC). The entry, care and release of specimens at the CAV-CVC were documented from 2011 to 2016. The entry of 3171 individuals corresponding to 193 different species was recorded. The groups with the highest number of entries, by individuals and species respectively, were birds (43.8%, 51.8%), reptiles (37.6%, 19.7%) and mammals (13.8%, 25.9%). Also, 148 individuals of different species of invertebrates were recorded. A total of 834 specimens of wildlife were entered as rescue, 555 as voluntary deliveries, and 97 as confiscation. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) these are species of the categories: Least Concern (78.5%), Vulnerable (6.8%), Near Threatened (3.1%) and Critically Endangered or Endangered (2.6%). Mammals, and in particular primates, were the taxonomic group with the longest permanence within the CAV-CVC and, among birds, the order Psittaciformes was the one that had the longest permanence at the end of the study period. The highest percentage of exits was represented by releases (39.0%), deaths (27.0%) and delivery to other institutions (7.0%). There was no information on the release site for 96% of the individuals. In the output records of the specimens there was neither details of a sanitary evaluation, paraclinical tests and specific tests for pathogens carried out, nor records of the use of markings for activities of monitoring and tracking of released individuals. In conclusion, aspects in the management and care for wildlife in the CAV-CVC that require greater attention and improvement were evidenced, especially in relation to veterinary care and the release and monitoring protocols of rehabilitated and released specimens.