THE CONTEXT OF THE SNAKES OF COLOMBIA WITH AN ANALYSIS OF THE THREATS AGAINST THEIR CONSERVATION

Abstract

The snake fauna of Colombia excedes 270 species of which 30 are coral snakes and 19 are vipers. Snakes of Colombia are distributed in nearly all of the country except the waters of the Caribbean and in high mountains (above 3500 meters). These animals are crucial to ecosystem funcioning but suffer much from human activities. Five threats to Colombian snake populations have been identified: (1) destruction by persons living in rural areas; (2) death by vehicles traveling upon highways; (3) death as a consequence of the changing local climate or the elimination of prey sources resulting from the removal of their habitat; (4) population reductions to satisfy the black market of animal traffickers; and (5) death as a consequence of scientific collecting. Estimates of the number of snakes lost by wild populations for the five threats are based in clues derived from the scientific literature as well as knowledge of the biologies of individual species and are: (1) at least 109 million/ year; (2) between 52,000 and 105,000/ year; (3) at least 124 million/ year; (4) between 1000 and 5000/ year; y (5) between 300 and 500/ year. Two threats are particularly alarming (for their magnitudes) whereas the other three must be viewed as merely trivial. Confronting these threats will require a profound revision of regulations and a redirection of efforts on the part of the regulating agencies of the country (the Ministry of the Environment and the Regional Corporations).