Wildlife in Ecuador and its conservation.

ANDEcuador has a great wealth of wild flora and fauna. However, these natural resources continue to be substantially diminished by deforestation, illegal trade in species, and poaching, which has caused many of these wild species to be threatened or in danger of extinction. If we do not help save them, these may be the last generations of these animals living in our beautiful country.

In Spanish, the term «vida silvestre» is a phrase literally translated from the English word «wildlife»; and although in Spanish, the term silvestre is more associated with plants than with animals, the phrase that, in Spanish, comes closest to the idea of the English word wildlife is fauna salvaje or animales salvajes.

The main factor in the decline of the world's wildlife has been modern human society, directly (e.g. excessive commercial hunting) and indirectly, and even more disastrously, by encroaching on or destroying natural habitats, giving firearms to those who previously had none, or introducing other, more aggressive animals into certain areas.

Few species seem to have disappeared in recent years due to evolutionary senility, disease or climate change. That is why wildlife conservation requires much more than just protecting individual animals. It must begin with the conservation of habitat, the area where animals feed, rest and reproduce. The introduction of new types of farming, drainage of wetlands, general lowering of the water table, pollution of rivers and lakes, destruction of forests, and the indiscriminate use of insecticides and herbicides are some of the reasons for the degradation of the habitat of these wildlife species.

When is a species considered endangered? 

An animal species enters the group of "endangered" when its existence is compromised at a global level, generally due to the factors mentioned above.

To learn about some of the mammals that have entered this classification in our country, you can access from This link to the Red Book of Mammals of Ecuador in online version.

And although the Situation of confiscation of wild species in Ecuador It has several problems, it is possible that we as citizens become aware of avoiding acquiring them as pets in the case of animals or as "fine" wood furniture if we are not sure of its origin.

OTHER RESOURCES

Forestry and Conservation of Natural Areas and Wildlife Law Ecuador 2004