This species dazzles with its beauty, but it is as fascinating as it is lethal.
News Colombia.
Colombia is much more than a point on the map: it is a true sanctuary of life. Its geographical position, right in the heart of the tropics and crossed by the equator, gives it a natural wealth that few countries can match. That is why it is not an exaggeration that it is known as ‘The country of beauty’, a title earned thanks to the immensity of ecosystems that flourish in its territory.
From the snow-capped mountains to the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, passing through the Amazon jungles and the eastern plains, Colombia is a mosaic of landscapes where every corner tells a story of adaptation and evolution. Unique species on the planet live here, such as the spectacled bear, the Amazon pink dolphin, the Quindío wax palm and the Cattleya trianae orchid, declared the national flower. These natural jewels have turned the country into a living laboratory and an invaluable refuge for science and conservation.
In the five natural regions—Andean, Amazonian, Caribbean, Pacific and Orinoco—an unprecedented biological diversity is concentrated. With more than 1,900 species of birds, Colombia occupies first place in the world in birdlife, in addition to second in plants and amphibians, and third in reptiles and palm species. All this in just 0.7% of the Earth’s surface, where nearly 10% of the world’s biodiversity is home, a fact that demonstrates its essential role in the ecological balance of the planet.
The most poisonous frog in the world lives in the Colombian Pacific: a treasure as lethal as it is beautiful
But if there is a territory that summarizes all that exuberance, it is the Colombian Pacific, one of the wettest and greenest regions in the world. There, between jungle, sea and mountains, nature is shown at its best. It is also home to one of the most amazing and feared creatures in the animal kingdom: the golden frog (Phyllobates terribilis), considered by scientists to be the most poisonous amphibian on the planet.
This small frog, of a bright yellow or golden color, lives mainly in the departments of Cauca and Valle del Cauca. Its hue is not only a sign of beauty: it is a warning to its predators. This mechanism, known as aposematism, signals that the animal is toxic or dangerous, an evolutionary strategy that has allowed its survival for thousands of years.
Also known as the dart frog, indigenous communities in the Pacific used to use its powerful toxin to impregnate the tips of their hunting darts. However, today this species is in danger of extinction, threatened by illegal mining, deforestation and the expansion of illicit crops that destroy its natural habitat.
Added to this is indiscriminate hunting. Some farmers, upon recognizing their poison, eliminate them out of fear, not knowing that these frogs generally flee from human presence. Each specimen that disappears represents not only the loss of a species, but of an essential piece in the delicate ecological balance of the Colombian Pacific.
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