Good Guatemalan amphibians and birds news

This video is called Carlos Vasquez Almazan – amphibian conservation in Guatemala.

After bad conservation news from Guatemala, today better news:

New reserve declared in Guatemala to protect indigenous frogs and Endangered birds

Sierra Caral Amphibian Reserve in Guatemala

May 2012. Conservationists are celebrating the establishment of the new 6,000-acre Sierra Caral Amphibian Reserve in Guatemala, which will protect some of the country’s most endangered wildlife. The reserve is home to a dozen globally threatened frogs and salamanders, five found nowhere else in the world, three species of threatened birds, and the recently discovered Merendon Palm-pitviper (Bothriechis thalassinus), an arboreal, blue-toned viper.

Isolated mountain range

Tucked away in the eastern corner of Guatemala near the Caribbean Sea, and running along the Honduran border, the Sierra Caral is an isolated mountain range that is home to numerous rare and endangered animals and plants.

New species

Exploration of these mountains has yielded several new discoveries of beetles, salamanders, frogs, and snakes over the past two decades.

Threatened birds

The site will offer protections for many birds including threatened species such as: the Highland Guan, Great Curassow and Keel-billed Motmot. Furthermore, the site is known as a haven for an abundance of migratory birds including the Canada Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, Wood Thrush, Painted Bunting, Worm-eating Warbler, and Louisiana Waterthrush.

Major stop for migratory birds

“The new Sierra Caral Reserve safeguards key stopover habitat for perhaps millions of migrating U.S. birds, making it an invaluable addition to Central America’s roster of protected areas and a real benefit to U.S. bird conservation efforts,” said Dr. George Fenwick, President of American Bird Conservancy (ABC).

The Sierra Caral forests are especially diverse due to the convergence of floras and faunas from North and South America, as well as many species unique to the region. Only a few Merendon Palm Pit Vipers have been found, most often in a palm native to the Sierra Caral. Guatemalan biologist Carlos Vasquez Almazan, one of the few individuals to find a Merendon Palm-pitviper in the wild, drew international scientific attention to the conservation importance of the Sierra Caral in recent years. He was recently awarded the prestigious Whitley Award for Conservation that recognizes outstanding nature conservationists around the world.

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