Madidi-Tambopata, Bolivia
- Jaguar Camera Trap Photo
- An adult male jaguar investigates a camera trap placed on a beach in Madidi National Park, Bolivia. The Madidi-Tambopata landscape is home to one of the the highest densities of jaguars found in all of South America.
- ©Guido Ayala/WCS
- Madidi-Tambopata, Bolivia Photo
- Julie Larsen Maher ©WCS
Madidi, Pilon Lajas, and Apolobamba in the northwestern Bolivian Andes and the neighboring Tambopata and Bahuaja Sonene in Peru form a protected block of more than 15,000 square miles of tropical Andes, the most diverse region on Earth. The landscape ranges in elevation from Amazonian lowlands only 150 feet above sea level to snow-capped peaks at almost 20,000 feet in elevation. Ecosystems vary from moist tropical rainforests to grasslands to montane forests. Animal residents of this ecosystem include 1,100 bird species and 300 mammal species, among them jaguars and Andean bears. The landscape also boasts 12,000 types of plants as well as important archeological sites. Eight indigenous territories and local government jurisdictions provide additional connectivity for wide-ranging species and make the overall landscape a total of more than 42,000 square miles.
Fast Facts
- Madidi-Tambopata is one of the largest protected area complexes in the world.
- Madidi is one of the top tourist attractions in Bolivia.
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Challenges
Building of roads, hydroelectric projects, illegal logging, mining, agriculture, and hunting threaten the wild animals living in the region.
WCS Responds
WCS has been working in the Madidi-Tambopata landscape since the late 1990s. Our field conservationists recently discovered a new species of monkey there: the
Madidi titi monkey. WCS has helped form more than 20 community-based enterprises in the area with more than 3,000 beneficiaries. These enterprises promote the sustainable use of natural resources such as native honey, subsistence hunting and fishing, ornamental fish, cacao, handicrafts, and timber.
From the Newsroom
With help from WCS, the Bolivian Park Service released a new compendium documenting the abundant plant and wildlife found within Madidi National Park. The natural haven houses more than 200 mammal species, 11 percent of the world’s birds, and the vibrant parrot snake, photographed as it slithers through the trees.
The giant leaf frog is one resident of Peru’s Bahuaja Sonene National Park, where 50 reptiles and amphibian species, along with hundreds of other undocumented birds, mammals, insects, and plants were recently found during an extensive survey.
In a recent study conducted in Bolivia’s Madidi National Park, WCS researchers have identified a record number of jaguars through a digital camera trap survey.
The Tsimané Mosetene Regional Council, WCS’s local partner in the montane rainforests of Bolivia, received the
award at a ceremony held on September 20 in New York, honoring its efforts to reduce poverty
through sustainable development and biodiversity conservation.
WCS conservationists in Guatemala are using a swanky scent to lure jaguars and other endangered wildlife toward motion-sensitive
cameras that snap photos of the animals as they pass by. The photos help researchers
estimate population numbers for these shy species.