Colombia Fauna and Flora

Flora

Colombia is the country with the highest rate of species by unit of area in the entire world. Colombia, lest you not believe us, is home to over 130,000 species of plants.  Just to put that into a small amount of perspective, there’s just over 300,000 species of plant in the world, meaning Colombia has almost half of them.
However, it should come as no surprise that Colombia has such an incredible selection of flora. The stunning diversity of the country includes deserts, 3 mountain ranges, 1,600km of Caribbean coast, Pacific coast and the Colombian Amazon Rainforest. Moreover, the variety of weathers you can experience in Colombia (from barren deserts to snow-capped mountains) means that whatever conditions plant life needs to survive, it’s likely you can find it in Colombia.

Colombia also boasts many endemic species of plant, including the national tree, the Wax Palm (or ceroxylon quindiuense) which is only found in the stunning Cocora Valley of Colombia. Others include the vast array of heliconia species. In fact, a massive 10% of the species in the world are native to Colombia.

Fauna

Not only is Colombia’s selection of flora the most diverse in the world, but the country boasts the highest rate of animal species by unit area in the whole world, too. From birds to monkeys to toucans to parrots to sloths to bears, it’s a dazzling array of species that has to be seen to be believed.

 Colombia also has the largest number of endemic species, with almost 10% of the species in the world living in Colombia. This figure dramatically increases when considering just birds.

Animal life is abundant, especially in the tropical area. Among carnivorous species are puma, a variety of smaller cats, raccoons, and mustelids. Herbivores include the tapir, peccary, deer, and large tropical rodents. Sloths, anteaters, opossums, and several types of monkeys are also found, as well as some 1,665 species and subspecies of South American and migratory birds.