An anteater and its young, an alligator, 24 river turtles, eight iguanas, two parrots and a snake are part of the specimens recovered.
In the departments of Arauca, Casanare and Guainía, the Colombian Navy, the National Army and the National Police reported saving 125 specimens of wildlife that would be illegally traded. After their recovery the animals were returned to their natural habitat accompanied by the regional environmental authorities.
The Military Forces, in the East of the country, increased their operation against organizations that commit crimes such as trafficking in exotic fauna for commercial purposes. As a result of this operational effort, during a road control checkpoint between the municipalities of Orocué and Yopal in Casanare, an anteater and its young were recovered, which were abandoned by two foreigners, who fled on a motorcycle, when they saw the authorities in the place.
Later, in this same department, the Sailors of Colombia found an abandoned rudimentary boat on the banks of the Meta River, near the sector Remolinos that inside contained a cardboard box with two parrots and a snake in captivity.
On the other hand, at a river checkpoint on the Arauca River, it was possible to find and recover 24 river turtles of the sabanera specimen and a latirostris caiman, which were being transported by an individual on board a boat. Additionally, in a wooded area of the municipality of Barrancominas in Guainía, they found and released eight iguanas that had been abandoned by foreigners inside a sack.
Finally, on the banks of the Negro River, near the village of San Felipe, south of the department of Guainía, in the border area with Venezuela and Brazil, unknown people abandoned a plastic container in which they were storing 87 ornamental fish, of the specimen corydoras delphax, which would have a cost close to 700 thousand pesos, according to the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Authority - AUNAP.
The 125 specimens recovered were put into custody of Corporinoquía and the Corporation for the Sustainable Development of the North and East Amazonian - CDA, respectively, who, after verifying the good health of each of the animals, released them into safe areas in their natural habitat.
Source: Press – Navy of Colombia
