Latest news with #Orinoco
TimesLIVE
20-05-2025
- Science
- TimesLIVE
Last-ditch race to save the Orinoco crocodile
A group of Venezuelan biologists and veterinarians are raising hatchlings of the endangered Orinoco crocodile and releasing them into the wild in a bid to prevent, or at least delay, its extinction. Fewer than 100 Orinoco crocodiles, one of the largest living reptiles in the world, remain in the wild, according to the Venezuelan conservation foundation Fudeci. The animal's natural habitat is in the Orinoco River basin, which covers most of Venezuela and spills into Colombia. Adult Orinocos can reach more than 5m in length, and can live for decades. A 70-year-old named Picopando resides at Masaguaral Ranch, where scientists breed captive adults and raise the babies and feed them chicken, beef and vitamins until they are about a year old and grow to a weight of about 6kg. Every year the group releases about 200 young crocs into the wild. "We're only delaying the Orinoco's extinction," said Federico Pantin, 59, director of the Leslie Pantin Zoo. Specialists, workers and volunteers carry crates transporting Orinoco crocodile hatchlings raised in captivity to release them into the wild at the Capanaparo River at Terepaima Ranch near Elorza in Apure State on April 24 2025. An Orinoco crocodile hatchling is released into the wild at the Capanaparo River. It's believed fewer than 100 remain in the wild. Decades of poaching for leather pushed the Orinoco crocodile to the brink, and struggling Venezuelans who hunt the animals for meat and take their eggs for food threaten to deal the final blow. A drone view of cars transporting Orinoco crocodile hatchlings raised in captivity as they wait for a flatboat to cross the river and release the animals into the wild at the Capanaparo River near Elorza in Apure State on April 23 2025. Tomas Blohm, 64, releases an Orinoco crocodile hatchling. A drone view of Orinoco crocodile hatchlings raised in captivity swimming in the Capanaparo River after being released into the wild at Terepaima Ranch.
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘I'm in love with the birds and the river': how ecotourism helped a small Colombian town recover from war
Ten years ago, violent conflict made it impossible for tourists to enjoy the natural riches of Mesetas. The town was one of the centres of the armed conflict that ravaged Colombia for decades, claiming nearly half a million lives. But since the historic peace treaty in 2016, with efforts to uphold it now led by the leftist president, Gustavo Petro, the people of Mesetas have had their hopes raised for a better life, thanks to those natural assets. While Mesetas, in the department of Meta, was beset by clashes involving the army, police, leftwing guerilla groups, rightwing paramilitaries and criminal organisations competing for territory, natural resources and control of drug trafficking across the country, the idea of a thriving tourist industry was unimaginable. But with the arrival of peace, came a growing number of visitors. And as the region's unique biodiversity, which brings together three different ecosystems – Andean, Amazon and Orinoco – attracted more foreigners, local people began to recognise the great potential and value of the nature on their doorstep. 'We didn't appreciate the beauty around us and we didn't think people would be interested in coming here until others showed us that we have stunning waterfalls and impressive viewpoints,' says William Rodríguez, a peasant farmer from Mesetas, who is now involved in reforestation projects and rural tourism. Mesetas' most popular attractions include the Güejar River canyon and the Telares and Charco Azul waterfalls. Yet, residents and local groups are working to promote other attractions, such as Guácharos Canyon and the Danta waterfall. The area's biodiversity is impressive, featuring species such as the western mountain coati, the Amazonian motmot, ocelots and giant anteaters. As tourism increased, the positive effects were almost immediate: 2023 was – along with 2019 – the year with the lowest level of deforestation in Mesetas since the peace treaty was signed, according to Global Forest Watch reports. Officials at the mountainous Sierra de la Macarena national natural park, an area of 630,000 hectares (1.6m acres) of rainforest, dry woodland, shrubland and savanna, attribute the imporvements in deforestation rates to environmental restoration and ecotourism projects carried out by local groups backed by the UN development programme (UNDP). The Corredores de Paz (peace corridors) programme helped people in the region become more sustainbable by focusing on environmental conservation and tourism. As part of the project, 40 families helped to restore the river basin, with each family planting one hectare of native trees, including the sebipira (Caesalpinia pluviosa), pink trumpet (Tabebuia rosea) and Spanish cedar (Cedrela odorata). Omaira Achury, who took part in the project, says: 'Through the UNDP, we received the materials to fence the reforested area to stop cattle getting in. Now, the trees are one year old. The idea is to restore as much as we can.' Another project saw community members launch a bird guide that mapped the region, with instructions on where to find certain species and notes on whether they were vulnerable or endangered. The guide now includes 800 species of birds in the area. 'Before, we didn't give importance to birds and animals,' says Argenis Buendía, a member of the Catypsa co-operative, which brings together local people and signatories of the peace treaty in sustainable economy projects. 'Now we learn to take care of nature.' Jairo Roncancio, 25, a tourist guide and birdwatcher, believes that 'the development of nature tourism has changed people's mentality'. He recalls carrying rocks for his brother when they hunted birds with a slingshot. 'Now, I'm in love with the birds, the river and nature in general,' he says. People in the community see environmental protection as essential for tourism. Achury has 29 hectares (72 acres) of land, but now only nine are pastures for cattle breeding. The rest is kept as natural forest, with areas for agroforestry and avocado and wood plantations. 'We create a sense of belonging to nature. Before, people only worried about cutting down trees. Now, as a result of these mistakes, we must restore [nature],' says Achury. 'We need water and forest to have life. Tourists need this, we need it, and the world needs it.' According to Arbey Barrios López, a member of the Camaxagua Youth Corporation, a collective of young people who work in sustainable tourism and biodiversity monitoring in Mesetas, conservation areas such as the highest part of the Sierra de la Macarena mountain range are well preserved. 'At the foot of the mountain, we have 'bald' spots, as some people call them, with small remaining forest areas. Our commitment is to make these spots grow,' says Barrios. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion However, the armed conflict has been resurfacing in several regions of Colombia, including the Meta department. 'Recently, we heard that [armed groups] were offering 10 million pesos [£1,800] to young people. It is a strategy they use to recruit those with family problems or other issues,' says Luis Eduardo Molano, the head of Camaxagua. 'When we see young people in this situation, we try to attract them to tourism and sports. Through kayak and rafting lessons, we are snatching them away from war.' Although there have been no incidents in the area where the collectives operate, some fear that reports of violence in other parts of Meta are already affecting tourist activity in Mesetas. 'I think that if the armed groups had not reappeared, our situation would be much better,' says Rodríguez, lamenting a fall in visitor numbers this year. With the resurgence of the conflict, chronic problems linked to organised crime have also returned. Rodríguez and his wife removed their project from the internet after receiving extortion calls – which turned out to be not from guerrillas or militias but from inmates inside prisons. 'Many of us live entirely from tourism. That is why it's worrying that the war brings chaos again,' says Molano. Catypsa is also facing its own challenges after reports of threats from dissident groups of the Farc (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia). Still, the collectives plan to maintain their projects and hope to expand, even as the UNDP project comes to an end. 'We hope that our organisation will soon have its own resources, and will continue to advance in a type of tourism that benefits the community as a whole,' says Barrios. Camaxagua would also like to see greater government support for people in the area. 'If we start paying communities for conservation services, if they become forest rangers, this would be more effective than having five professionals on 650,000 hectares,' Barrios says. Nicol Castillo, Mesetas' environment secretary, acknowledges the role the community plays in preservation and restoration but says her municipality has limited resources. 'The administration needs to continue looking for alternatives,' says Castillo, adding that payments for environmental services or carbon credits are being considered. Roncancio, who started birdwatching and monitoring the area's biodiversity five years ago, compares the conflict with the country's environmental issues. 'If there was a peace treaty during the conflict, why not a peace treaty with nature?' he says. 'I know it's not easy – now, protecting the environment can cost us our lives.'
Deccan Herald
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Deccan Herald
May 20, 2025: Best photos from around the world
Hamburger SV fans let off flares in front of Hamburg City Hall as they celebrate the promotion of the men's and women's team to the Bundesliga. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer Trains are seen parked on the station after it was announced that NJ transit locomotive engineers had reached a tentative contract agreement to end their strike on May 20, in Hoboken, New Jersey, US, May 19, 2025. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz The eye of an Orinoco crocodile hatchling raised in captivity is seen prior to its release into the wild at the Capanaparo River, at the Leslie Pantin Zoo in Turmero, Aragua State, Venezuela. REUTERS/Gaby Oraa Presidential candidate George Simion reacts to exit polls of Romania's second round of the presidential election, in front of the parliament in Bucharest, Romania, May 18, 2025. REUTERS/Louisa Gouliamaki
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The last-ditch race to save the Orinoco crocodile
By Gaby Oraa and Efrain Otero CAPANAPARO, Venezuela (Reuters) -Venezuelan biologist Carlos Alvarado, 34, has one hand on the young crocodile's neck and another on its tail. With the help of some tape and calipers, he is measuring it, tracking its growth a few days before it will be released into the wild. Alvarado's story - and that of the Orinoco crocodile he is caring for - is a tale of hope and persistence in the face of overwhelming odds. Fewer than 100 Orinoco crocodiles - one of the largest living reptiles in the world - remain in the wild, according to Venezuelan conservation foundation FUDECI. The animal's natural habitat is in the Orinoco River basin, which covers most of Venezuela and spills into Colombia. For decades, the men and women of the Venezuelan Crocodile Specialist Group have been raising younglings of the critically endangered species in captivity in a race against time to avoid its extinction. But they say they are losing that race. Decades of poaching for leather pushed the Orinoco crocodile to the brink, and now struggling Venezuelans who hunt the animals for meat and take their eggs for food threaten to deal the final blow. The members of the Crocodile Specialist Group are not getting any younger - and the next generation of biologists has mostly fled turmoil in Venezuela for jobs elsewhere. Alvarado remains alone to take up the baton. It is, he says, "a great responsibility." He has a sense of mission. He is trying to persuade university students to take part in the conservation effort. Federico Pantin, 59, is not optimistic. He is director of the Leslie Pantin Zoo in Turmero, near Caracas, which specializes in endangered species and is one of the places where the crocodile hatchlings are raised. "We're only delaying the Orinoco's extinction," he says. Pantin and his colleagues keep on going, however - researching, measuring, transporting. The scientists log the sites where the long-snouted Orinoco are known to nest, collecting their eggs or hatchlings. They also breed captive adults kept at the zoo and at Masaguaral Ranch, a biodiversity center and cattle farm near Tamarindito in central Venezuela. The scientists raise the babies, feeding them a diet of chicken, beef and vitamins until they are about a year old and grow to a weight of around 6 kg (13 lb). Adult Orinocos can reach over 5 meters (16 ft) in length, and can live for decades - a 70-year-old named Picopando resides at Masaguaral Ranch. The adults have tough, bony armor, fierce jaws and sharp teeth. They are not to be trifled with. But when they are first hatched, a researcher can cradle one in their hands. Omar Hernandez, 63, biologist and head of FUDECI, tags the tiny foot of a hatchling at the Leslie Pantin Zoo. To save the species, a number of efforts would be necessary, he says: research, protection, education, and management. "We are doing the management, collecting the hatchlings, raising them for a year and freeing them," he says. But "that is practically the only thing being done. And it is not being done at scale." Every year the group releases around 200 young crocs into the wild. The biologists wait until they are a year old as that is the most critical period in their life, Hernandez says. It is when they are young that "almost all are hunted." In April, Reuters accompanied the scientists as they released this year's batch. The young animals were placed in crates, their jaws bound, for the journey from the zoo to the Capanaparo River, deep in western Venezuela not far from the Colombian border, where human habitations are few and far between. This part of the river passes through private land, reducing the likelihood that the animals will immediately be hunted. Alvaro Velasco, 66, who has a tattoo of an Orinoco crocodile on his right shoulder, covered the eyes of a juvenile with tape to avoid it becoming stressed during the journey. "People ask me, 'Why crocodiles? They're ugly,'" said Velasco, president of the Crocodile Specialist Group. "To me, they're fabulous animals. You release them and they stay there, looking at you, as if to say 'What am I supposed to do in this huge river?' And then they swim off." Pickup trucks drove the scientists, crocodiles and volunteers along muddy tracks to a camp near the river, where the humans spent the night sleeping in hammocks. The next day, they gently removed the crocodiles from their crates and carried them to the river. The juveniles slid into the muddy, greenish waters. "Maybe many of these animals are going to be killed tomorrow or the day after tomorrow because of a lack of awareness among people and of course because of hunger," said Hernandez. He echoed Pantin's comments that ultimately the Orinoco crocodile was likely doomed. But, he said, "we're stubborn. It's a way of delaying extinction and it's something that is in our capacity to do. If we waited for the perfect circumstances, they would never come."
Straits Times
19-05-2025
- Science
- Straits Times
Last-ditch race to save the rare Orinoco crocodile
Fewer than 100 Orinoco crocodiles - one of the largest living reptiles in the world - remain in the wild. PHOTO: REUTERS CAPANAPARO (Venezuela) - Biologist Carlos Alvarado, 34, has one hand on a young crocodile's neck and another on its tail, measuring it with some tape and callipers to track its growth a few days before it is released into the wild. Alvarado's story - and that of the Orinoco crocodile he is caring for - is a tale of hope and persistence in the face of overwhelming odds. Fewer than 100 Orinoco crocodiles - one of the largest living reptiles in the world - remain in the wild, according to Venezuelan conservation foundation Fudeci. The animal's natural habitat is in the Orinoco River basin, which covers most of Venezuela and spills into Colombia. For decades, the men and women of the Venezuelan Crocodile Specialist Group have been raising younglings of the critically endangered species in captivity, in a race against time, to avoid its extinction. But they say they are losing that race. Decades of poaching for leather pushed the Orinoco crocodile to the brink, and now struggling Venezuelans who hunt the animals for meat and take their eggs for food threaten to deal the final blow. The members of the Crocodile Specialist Group are not getting any younger - and the next generation of biologists has mostly fled turmoil in Venezuela for jobs elsewhere. Alvarado remains alone to take up the baton. It is, he says, "a great responsibility." He has a sense of mission. He is trying to persuade university students to take part in the conservation effort. Federico Pantin, 59, is not optimistic. He is director of the Leslie Pantin Zoo in Turmero, near Caracas, which specialises in endangered species, and is one of the places where the crocodile hatchlings are raised. 'We're only delaying the Orinoco's extinction,' he says. Pantin and his colleagues keep on going, however - researching, measuring, transporting. The scientists log the sites where the long-snouted Orinoco are known to nest, collecting their eggs or hatchlings. They also breed captive adults kept at the zoo and at Masaguaral Ranch, a biodiversity center and cattle farm near Tamarindito in central Venezuela. The scientists raise the babies, feeding them a diet of chicken, beef and vitamins until they are about a year old and grow to a weight of around 6kg. Adult Orinocos can reach over 5m in length, and can live for decades - a 70-year-old named Picopando resides at Masaguaral Ranch. The adults have tough, bony armour, fierce jaws and sharp teeth. They are not to be trifled with. But when they are first hatched, a researcher can cradle one in the hand. A drone view of 203 Orinoco crocodile hatchlings raised in captivity before their release into the wild at the Capanaparo River. PHOTO: REUTERS Omar Hernandez, 63, biologist and head of Fudeci, tags the tiny foot of a hatchling at the Leslie Pantin Zoo. To save the species, a number of efforts would be necessary, he says: research, protection, education, and management. 'We are doing the management, collecting the hatchlings, raising them for a year and freeing them. That is practically the only thing being done. And it is not being done at scale,' he says. Every year, the group releases about 200 young crocs into the wild. The biologists wait until they are a year old as that is the most critical period in their life, Hernandez says. It is when they are young that 'almost all are hunted'. Omar Hernandez carrying an Orinoco crocodile hatchling raised in captivity before its release into the wild at the Capanaparo River. PHOTO: REUTERS In April, Reuters accompanied the scientists as they released this year's batch. The young animals were placed in crates, their jaws bound, for the journey from the zoo to the Capanaparo River, deep in western Venezuela not far from the Colombian border, where human habitations are few and far between. This part of the river passes through private land, reducing the likelihood that the animals will immediately be hunted. Alvaro Velasco, 66, who has a tattoo of an Orinoco crocodile on his right shoulder, covered the eyes of a juvenile with tape to help prevent it becoming stressed during the journey. Velasco, president of the Crocodile Specialist Group, said: 'People ask me, 'Why crocodiles? They're ugly. To me, they're fabulous animals. 'You release them and they stay there, looking at you, as if to say 'What am I supposed to do in this huge river?' And then they swim off.' Alvaro Velasco preparing an Orinoco crocodile hatchling raised in captivity before its release into the wild at the Capanaparo River. PHOTO: REUTERS Pickup trucks drove the scientists, crocodiles and volunteers along muddy tracks to a camp near the river, where the humans spent the night sleeping in hammocks. The next day, they gently removed the crocodiles from their crates and carried them to the river. The juveniles slid into the muddy, greenish waters. 'Maybe many of these animals are going to be killed tomorrow or the day after tomorrow because of a lack of awareness among people and of course because of hunger,' said Hernandez. He echoed Pantin's comments that ultimately the Orinoco crocodile was likely doomed. But, he said: 'We're stubborn. It's a way of delaying extinction and it's something that is in our capacity to do. If we waited for the perfect circumstances, they would never come.' REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
