Running head: Endangered species in Peru 1

LANGUAGE CENTRE OF THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SANTA

“ENDANGERED SPECIES IN PERU”

Student’s name: Gomer David, Lavado Palacios

Days: Monday-Wednesday-Friday

Schedule: 6:00 pm-8:00 pm

Teacher’s name: Juan Carlos, Hurtado

Principal’s name: Juan Martinez, Guillen

2019
Endangered species in Peru 2

Content

Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 4

1. Preliminary concepts ................................................................................................... 5

1.1. Endangered species ............................................................................................. 5

1.2. Categories ........................................................................................................... 5

1.3. Statistics in Peru.................................................................................................. 5

2. Amazon river .............................................................................................................. 6

2.1. Description .......................................................................................................... 6

2.2. Hunting ............................................................................................................... 6

2.3. Mercury pollution ............................................................................................... 6

3. Andean condor ............................................................................................................ 7

3.1. Description .......................................................................................................... 7

3.2. Customs............................................................................................................... 7

4. Jaguar .......................................................................................................................... 8

4.1. Description .......................................................................................................... 8

4.2. Jaguar trafficking ................................................................................................ 8

5. Spectacled bear ........................................................................................................... 9

5.1. Description .......................................................................................................... 9

5.2. Destruction and fragmentation of its habitat ....................................................... 9

5.3. Hunting ............................................................................................................. 10

Endangered species in Peru 3

5.4. Traditional medicine ......................................................................................... 10

6. How to help ............................................................................................................... 11

6.1. Change our mind ............................................................................................... 11

6.2. Support policies against illegal acts .................................................................. 12

6.3. Share information.............................................................................................. 12

7. Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 13

References ......................................................................................................................... 14
Endangered species in Peru 4

Introduction

In the present work I am going to talk about endangered species in Peru. In the first part I

am going to talk about preliminary concepts about the state of a lot of animals in the world, ways

to classify endangered species and statistics of the number of animals at risk of extinction in Peru.

In the second part I am going to talk about the dolphin river, the only river dolphin on the planet,

its specifications and how it’s threatened by hunting and gold mining activities. In the third part I

am going to talk about the Andean condor, the largest flying bird of the world, its specifications

and how the customs are decreasing their population. In the fourth part I am going to talk about

the jaguar, a feline able to break a turtle shell with one bite and how it has become one of the

animals most affected by the black market. In the firth part I am going to talk about the spectacled

bear, the biggest bear in South America and how it’s threatened by activity human such as the

feeling of trees, development infrastructure, petroleum exploration. After that, I am going to talk

about things ordinary people can do to preserve endangered species such as change our mind,

support policies against illegal acts and share information. Finally, I am going to explain the most

important facts of the work.

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1. Preliminary concepts

1.1.Endangered species

An endangered species is a species of animal or plant that is seriously at risk of extinction.

In 2012, the IUCN Red List featured 3079 animal and 2655 plant species as endangered worldwide.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a global environmental network

dedicated to the conservation of natural resources and the foremost authority on threatened species.

Threatened species are species likely, in the near future, to become an endangered species within

all of much of its range.

1.2.Categories

Threatened species category includes three groups: Vulnerable species (VU), endangered

species (EN) and Critically endangered species (CR). According to the National Geographic:

 Vulnerable species: < 10, 000 mature individuals

 Endangered species: < 2, 500 mature individuals

 Critically species: < 250mature individuals

1.3.Statistics in Peru

According to the National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR) through the Red book of

the wild fauna threatened in Peru, there are 389 threatened species of our wildlife: 64 in the

category Critically endangered species, 122 endangered species and 203 in the category

Vulnerable species. The SERFOR of the Minister of Agriculture is the national forestry and

wildlife authority in our country. In the same sense, the list of threatened species includes 120

amphibians, 122 birds, 23 invertebrates, 92 mammals and 32 reptiles in some category of threat.

In the present exposition I am going to talk about five endangered animals in Peru.
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2. Amazon river

2.1.Description

According to the World Wife Fund, “the amazon river dolphin, also known as the pink

river dolphin, lives only in freshwater”. According to the National Geographic, “the pink river

dolphins of the Amazon use sonar to locate their prey hiding in the river.”

Specifications Data
SCIENTIFIC NAME Vultur gryphus
WEIGHT Around 15 kilograms
LENGTH 3 metres
HABITATS Mountain ranges
DIET Llamas, alpacas, guanacos
CONSERVATION STATUS Near threatened

2.2.Hunting

Like their marine relatives, dolphins face threats from human activity. According to the

National Geographic, “humans are the only threat to Amazon river dolphins, hunting them for

catfish bait or trapping them accidentally in gill nets.”

2.3.Mercury pollution

Mercury pollution from small-scale gold mining activities affects the river dolphin. The

mercury reaches dolphins through the food chain.

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3. Andean condor

3.1.Description

The Andean condor is the largest flying bird in the world in the world. It is one of the

longest-living birds of the world, with over 70 years in some cases. It reaches sexual maturity at

five or six years of age and nests at elevations of up to 5,000 m. It deposits one or two bluish-white

eggs, weighing about 280 g and ranging from 75 to 100 mm in length. The Andean condor is a

vulture, that is the reason why they have a good vision.

Specifications Data
SCIENTIFIC NAME Inia geoffrensis
WEIGHT Up to 352 pounds
LENGTH Up to 9.2 feet
HABITATS Rivers and lakes
DIET Small fish, crabs and turtles
CONSERVATION STATUS Endangered specie

3.2. Customs

According to the Wildlife Conservation Society as a bird with natural small populations, a

wide distribution range and low reproductive rates, the viability of its populations are a true

concern. Besides, the Andean condor is poisoned by the locals due to sporadic attacks on livestock.

What is more, there is a practice of strapping the bird to the bulls in bulls-fights during the Yawar

Fiesta.
Endangered species in Peru 8

4. Jaguar

4.1.Description

Jaguars are the largest of South America’s big cats. According to the Wildlife Conservation

Society, “Its jaws are so strong that they can break a turtle shell with one bite”. Unlike domestic

cats, jaguars love water and are very good swimmers. In Peru, the jaguar is called “otorongo’. In

captivity, jaguars can live up to 20 years, but it is believed that in the wild, they live between 11-

12 years.

Specifications Data
SCIENTIFIC NAME Panthera onca
WEIGHT 100 to 250 pounds
LENGTH Head and body: 5 to 6
feet; tail: 27.5 to 36
inches
HABITATS Forest
DIET Caimans, deer, capybaras
CONSERVATION STATUS Near threatened

4.2.Jaguar trafficking

According to the National Geographic, the jaguars face the illegal market (for example the

Chinese black market) which trades with teeth and heads of the feline. In China, jaguar teeth are

probably a substitute for tiger teeth, which become collars and are used as a wealth status or as an

amulet that protects against evil. Jaguars are still hunted for their attractive fur. Besides, like the

Andean condor, ranchers also kill jaguars because the cats sometimes prey upon their livestock.
Endangered species in Peru 9

5. Spectacled bear

5.1.Description

The spectacled bear is the biggest bear in South America. They are also known as the

Andean bear and locally as jukumari (Aymara) or ukumari (Quechua). The Andean bear have

yellow spots around the eyes that look like eyeglasses. They build platforms on top of trees where

they take naps and take their food to digest. They are diurnal, that means they do its activities

during the day. Also, they don’t hibernate like most bears.

Specifications Data
SCIENTIFIC NAME Tremarctos ornatus
WEIGHT 220 to 340 pounds
(males)
LENGTH 5 to 6 feet
HABITATS Humid Andean forest
DIET Fruits, roots, fungi,
insects, honey, eggs, fish
CONSERVATION STATUS Vulnerable specie

5.2.Destruction and fragmentation of its habitat

According to the World Wildlife Fund, loss and fragmentation of the species habitat is due

to the construction of roads, the destruction of forests for illicit crops such as coca and opium

poppy, and the use of grazing areas for cattle farming. In the following diagram is shown the

current land use patterns:

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Currente land
use patterns

The felling of Extraction of Infrastructure Advances of Petroleum

trees timbe development mining exploitation

Highways and
roads
High-tension
lines
Oil and gas
pipelines

5.3.Hunting

According to the World Wildlife Fund, hunting is one of the main causes of population

reduction of this species. Local inhabitants kill bears for diverse reasons, including subsistence

hunting, protection against attacks to livestock and crops, fear of the animal due to cultural reasons.

5.4.Traditional medicine

According to the World Wildlife Fund, spectacled bears are also hunted for parts used in

wildlife trade. The gall bladders are valued in traditional oriental medicine and can fetch a high

price on the international market.

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6. How to help

As we have seen, there are many causes of degradation of a species. In modern times,

human activity has become the cause of the extinction of animals. I have mentioned five reasons,

no one related to natural causes, of why some species are threatened:

 hunting,

 destruction of their habitat,

 illegal trade,

 pollution,

 customs.

There are three things we can do to change the state of endangered species in Peru:

6.1.Change our mind

We have to change our mind, left customs that affect other living beings. How we can see,

Andean condor is affected by traditional festivals. What’s more, people think jaguar teeth are an

amulet. I can say that it isn’t the only animal in Peru that is affected by old thoughts and actions

without reasons. Change our mind, also, means:

 Start to reduce plastic in the products we buy,

 Reuse a diversity of things such as packing materials, donate used clothing, buy

reusable products and so on,

 Getting into the recycling habit

Websites such as wikiHow.com give us tips to start making environmentally friendly

decisions.
Endangered species in Peru 12

6.2.Support policies against illegal acts

The only way to face illegal actions such as poaching, illegal gold mining, trafficking of

animals and so on, it is to support policies against any acts which affect the life of animals. Besides,

we talk about the decrease of population of the spectacled bear is related to destruction of their

habitats. What’s more, mercury pollution not only affects the pink dolphin, it also has an effect in

the locals. For this reason, the duty of the government is to face illegal acts and our duty is to

support them.

6.3.Share information

Talk to our friends and community about endangered species and the risks of human

activity. We aren’t the only specie in the world, we share this planet with other species. Share facts

how some animals are really interested. In January of this year me and my family visited the zoo

‘Park of the legends’ in Lima. There are lots of animals from different parts of the world which

are divided according the land where they live. In the ‘Mountain range’ area I found the spectacled

bear that caught my attention because it is lovely animal. When I come back home, I decided to

find information about the spectacled bear and I was surprised about how interesting was that

animal. I decided to talk about this matter because I think share information is important to

conserve the species.

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7. Conclusions

 An endangered species is specie of animal or plant at risk of extinction. It includes three

groups according to the population size: vulnerable species, endangered species and

critically species.

 The amazon river also known as the pink river, lives in freshwater and use sonar to locate

their prey. It is threatened by locals who hunting or trapping them in nets. Mercury

pollution from small-scale gold mining also affects the amazon river dolphin.

 The Andean condor is the largest flying bird and the longest bird in the world. It deposits

two or three eggs weighting 280 grams and ranging 100 millimetres. Its natural small

population and low reproductive rates plus practice of strapping the bird to the bulls result

in a risk to the species.

 The jaguar is the largest of South American’s big cats. Their jaws are so strong that they

can break turtle shell. They are good swimmers. Trafficking of their teeth and heads as

amulet against the evil in the illegal market (Chinese black market) are the main threat to

the jaguar.

 The spectacled bear is the biggest bear in South America. They have yellow spots in their

eyes that look like eyeglasses. They don’t hibernate. It is threatened by loss and

fragmentation of their habitat for construction of roads, extraction of timber and petroleum

exploitation, hunting and traditional medicine.

 In order to help, anyone can forget old thoughts which affect life of animals. Another way

to help it’s to support policies against poaching, illegal gold mining, trafficking of animals

and destruction of habitats. Finally, share information to give people reasons to know lots

of animals which can be really interesting.

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References

 https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/endangered/
 https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/freshwater-dolphin-species-and-facts
 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/04/irawaddy-river-dolphin-
population-biggest-20-years/
 https://www.nationalgeographic.es/animales/condor-andino
 https://peru.wcs.org/en-us/Wildlife/Andean-Condor.aspx
 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/j/jaguar/
 https://www.nationalgeographic.com.es/naturaleza/grandes-reportajes/trafico-jaguares-
peligros-que-acechan-a-este-felino_12163/1
 https://peru.wcs.org/en-us/Wildlife/Jaguar.aspx
 http://www.bcrp.gob.pe/billetes-y-monedas/monedas-de-coleccion/serie-numismatica-
fauna-silvestre-amenazada-del-peru/moneda-alusiva-al-mono-choro-cola-amarilla.html
 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/s/spectacled-bear/
 http://wwf.panda.org/our_work/wildlife/profiles/mammals/spectacled_bear/
 https://peru.wcs.org/en-us/Wildlife/Andean-Bear.aspx
 https://www.wikihow.com/Reduce,-Reuse,-and-Recycle