Los primates que habitan en los ecosistemas de montaña de la cordillera de Los Andes en Colombia están expuestos a fuertes amenazas como consecuencia del desarrollo de la infraestructura y la transformación del uso del suelo en lo que corresponde a la región más densamente poblada de Colombia. Para el género Aotus cuyos hábitos son principalmente nocturnos las amenazas sobre sus poblaciones no han sido bien documentadas hasta la fecha, aunque especies como el mono nocturno andino (Aotus lemurinus) ha sido catalogado como Vulnerable a nivel nacional y global. En este estudio, compilamos registros recientes de individuos de Aotus lemurinus muertos por electrocución accidental en cuatro departamentos de los Andes Centrales de Colombia. Estos registros contribuyen al conocimiento previo sobre esta problemática a nivel nacional y resaltan la necesidad de formular e implementar estrategias de mitigación del riesgo de electrocución para esta y otras especies.

The feeding habits of the cougar have been scarcely studied in Colombia, despite its importance in the ecosystems it inhabits. In this study, we analysed the diet of the cougar using 53 feces samples collected from several sites in the Central Andes of Colombia’s Coffee Growing Region. To identify prey species, we examined and compared bone fragments and hairs found in each sample with descriptions published in relevant literature and with specimens from the Natural History Museum of the Universidad de Caldas, Colombia. We found that rabbits (Sylvilagus sp.) provided half of the relative biomass consumed by the cougar (50%). Other preys identified belong to representatives of medium and large mammals such as marsupials (Didelphis: 10%), sloths (Choloepus: 9%), rodents (Coendou: 10%, Cuniculus: 9%), and deer (Mazama: 9%). Of the preys, Coendou rufescens has not, to our knowledge, been previously included in cougar diet literature. The curve of accumulation of species indicated that the number of samples obtained in this work fully describe the diet of this feline. Neither domestic species were recorded in this work, nor were there any relationships between the dry or rainy seasons and the consumption of prey species. The comparison of the information reported in this study and others carried out in the Andes may indicate the general nature of this feline’s diet and its adaptability to the prey species found in each area, since these vary in each one of them. It is probable that the obtained trophic niche value (0.33) is due to the abundance of rabbits present in the study area. It is also probable that the cougar has not consumed domestic species since, although it is close to cattle ranches, it has enough of wild prey in the area to supply its needs. The results of this study may help to improve our understanding of the feeding habits of this predator and its interaction with other species in this important region of Colombia. This will, in turn, promote major comprehension of the role of cougars in the Colombian Cordilleras and lead actions for their conservation.

El conocimiento de los reptiles en Colombia es aún incompleto, aunque el país alberga una alta diversidad de este grupo. En los últimos años, las colecciones regionales han contribuido a llenar vacíos de información sobre la biogeografía, la variación intra e interespecífica y la sistemática de diversos grupos. Presentamos aquí la información de 613 registros depositados en la Colección de Reptiles del Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad de Caldas. La mayoría de los registros (527) proceden del departamento de Caldas, pero se cuenta con registros de 15 departamentos más. El orden más representativo es Squamata (603 registros). La colección alberga 108 especímenes que han sido referenciados en 20 publicaciones nacionales y extranjeras.

The Coffee Region of Colombia is one of the most representative areas of the country due to its cultural appeal. 200 of the 528 mammal species in the country occur in this region. Pre-existing knowledge about the group in this region has been obtained through indirect and direct sampling methods. We present new records of mammals of the “Reserva Forestal Protectora Bosques de la Central Hidroeléctrica de Caldas (CHEC)”, located in the Coffee Region, based on vouchered citizen science records. To accomplish this, we held training workshops on the relevance of information provided by non-invasive vouchers for mammal collections that include bone remains, hairs, skin and other signs that can be found incidentally in the field by park rangers and other staff of the Reserve. In addition, we included photographic and video records of mammals taken by park rangers before and after the training workshops. We added vouchers obtained by the park rangers to the biological collection of the Natural History Museum of the Universidad de Caldas (MHN-UCa). Using this method, we obtained records of 34 mammalian species belonging to 20 families and 11 orders. We highlight the obtention of museum preserved vouchers of the Northern Naked-tailed Armadillo, Cabassous centralis (Miller 1899), and the Cauca Slender Opossum, Marmosops caucae (Thomas 1900), that had limited samples in national collections or had not been previously collected in the study area. With this work, a contribution network with the CHEC reserve staff was established, promoting the inclusion of these agents in the development of scientific research, and showing the relevance of collaborative science in assisting with filling information gaps about medium and large mammals.