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Employees of a factory located in the Envigado industrial zone, they were surprised by the presence of a small mammal that is rarely seen in a territory governed by cement, the human being and development.
An olinguito, a species that only lives in the Andes mountains of Colombia and Ecuador, was hidden among a pile of wooden pallets in the waste area of the industrial facility, a finding that workers immediately reported to the volunteer Envigado Fire Department during the coronavirus quarantine days.
Among the wood of a factory in Envigado, a female of the olinguito species remained hidden. Photo: Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley.
In the company of experts from the Mayor’s Office of the municipality, the Valle de Aburrá Metropolitan Area, the Envigado Ministry of the Environment and the CES University, firefighters went to the so-called citizen, who were as surprised as the factory employees and classified their origin as a mystery.
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It was an adult female of olinguito (Bassaricyon haze), a species that is not common in the urban area of the Aburrá Valley and that normally avoids contact with humans. “It is unlikely that it has reached the winery by its own means, although it can be found in preserved forests in rural areas of the municipalities of Envigado, La Estrella, Medellín, Sabaneta, Caldas and Bello,” reported the Metropolitan Area.
The olinguito was rescued and taken to the wildlife care center to check his health. Photos: Metropolitan Area of the Aburrá Valley.
The elusive animal, with a coat of brown and reddish colors and a long tail, was transferred to the care and assessment center for wildlife in the Metropolitan Area, where after a medical review, the experts found that he was in perfect health.
So far in 2020, the Metropolitan Area and the CES University have recovered 1,357 wildlife individuals in emergency situations throughout the Aburrá Valley. “During the mandatory isolation decreed by the National Government since March 24, a total of 543 animals have been treated,” said the entity.
This species inhabits dense forested areas. Its presence in urbanized areas is rare. Photos: Envigado Fire Department and Mayor’s Office.
Back to the forest
The female olinguito passed all medical examinations. She also demonstrated to have wild behaviors, for which she was released in the company of 16 opossums in a forest belonging to the Envigado Local Protected Areas System, a place where individuals of the same species have been sighted and that has enough food, shelter and water sources for it to survive.
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According to the Metropolitan Area, the olinguito Bassaricyon haze it is a relatively new species for science. It was first described in 2013 by North American scientists, who concluded that it only inhabits the preserved cloud forests of Ecuador and Colombia., with heights between 1,500 and 2,700 meters above sea level.
A dense Envigado forest is the new home of this olinguito. Photos: Metropolitan Area and Envigado Mayor’s Office.
“It is a carnivorous mammal endemic to the high Andean forests of these countries. It is solitary, with night habits and it is known that they only give birth to one young. His food preference is for fruit, insects and nectar, although he also eats small animals. He is skillful and fast, with great capacity to blend in with the environment. ”
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It differs from other animals of the same genus, such as olingo, for having different geographical distributions and differences in the coat, which is thicker and darker, and in its teeth, skull and size, which is smaller. “It measures about 80 centimeters from head to tail and normally shuns human contact, so it is not easy to see.”
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as an almost threatened species due to the loss of its habitat. “42 percent of the forests it inhabits have been transformed by agriculture or urban environments. The rest of these forests are highly fragmented by agricultural activities, extensive livestock, deforestation and climate change, “said the entity.
16 opossums were released next to the olinguito in the Envigado forests. Photos: Envigado Mayor’s Office.
