It was the third and last day scheduled for this year (and eighth overall) within the monitoring program of the Penelope perspicax, a bird species commonly called the Cauca guan.
This study is being developed in the National Forest Reserve Yotoco, a wilderness area that has become an important shelter for several species of fauna and flora in the Cauca Valley.
Coordinated by WCS Colombia, 24 students from University Javeriana Cali participated in this event, which was took place 22 and 23 August.
On the monitoring walks, covering 18.4 km, six individuals of the Cauca guan species were observed in different areas of the forest. On average, this is fewer than on previous monitoring walks. All these data will be used in the final analysis that will result in the estimated number of guans in 2015, for the Yotoco Reserve.
The Cauca guan is endemic to a small area of Colombia, and is one of the most endangered species in the country. It has historically occupied lowlands of Cauca and Patía Valley, but the loss of habitat and hunting, as main causes, have drastically reduced their distribution.
It has come to the point that, at present, only four populations of this species are known in the country, of which Yotoco Forest is one.