The mother went out to look for food and did not return in time. When the fire reached the burrow, in the eastern area of Neiva, she fled leaving behind her two cubs: a male and a female yaguarundi (Herpailurus yagouaroundi) barely one month old. They were found by the city’s Fire Department amid efforts to control the forest fire, dehydrated, with mild burns on the pads of their paws and singed whiskers.
“Upon arrival at our Temporary Home, an assessment was carried out to determine if they had burns or lacerations, finding that both specimens were dehydrated and alert,” said veterinarian Camila Gómez, from the Regional Autonomous Corporation of Alto Magdalena (CAM), the environmental authority of Huila.
The felines, who arrived weighing approximately 400 grams, now each weigh 450 grams thanks to an artificial rearing process with assisted animal protein diet and a warm space that simulates the conditions of their natural habitat. The hypothesis of the professionals attending them is that their mother returned to the burrow, encountered the fire already advanced, and chose to escape alone.
“Most likely, the mother of the felines went in search of food and left her two cubs in the burrow, and upon returning found the fire and fled, leaving the two animals in the place where they were found by the Neiva firefighters amid the fire,” explained Leidy Paola Montealegre, also a veterinarian at CAM.
The two yaguarundi cubs are just one of the cases among dozens of animals that the Regional Autonomous Corporations (CAR) of the country have rescued, treated, or found deceased in recent weeks, amid the second dry season that keeps forest fires active in the center of the country.
A toll that shows no respite
According to the most recent report from the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), as of August 24 at 8:30 a.m., Colombia is monitoring 15 forest fires: 12 remain active and 3 are controlled. Three departments currently concentrate the active fires: Tolima, Huila, and Caldas. In the last seven days, 84 fires have been extinguished, and the fire — among active and controlled events — has already affected 276 hectares.
Tolima is by far the hardest-hit department: it has active fires in Suárez, San Luis, Armero, Coello (with three different spots), Guamo, Ambalema, Ataco, and Líbano. In Huila, a sector of Pital is burning, and in Caldas, one in La Dorada. Controlled fires include those in Policarpa (Nariño), Venadillo (Tolima), and Bojacá (Cundinamarca).
To address the emergency, especially in Tolima, authorities deployed an aerial operation with two AT-802 planes, a UH-60 helicopter, and an MI-17 contracted by the Army, as well as a HUEY from the Air Force for the Coello and Suárez spots. On the ground, more than 200 units of firefighters, forest brigades, and rescue organizations from different regions of the country are working, coordinated from a unified command post installed in El Espinal since August 21.
What the flames leave behind in wildlife
The CARs are, by law, the first authorities to attend to wild animals affected by the fires, and their reports in recent days paint a picture of the wildlife that has paid the price of the fire.
In Tolima, Cortolima reports at least 28 affected specimens. Among the animals that arrived alive are an ocelot or margay (Leopardus pardalis), five woolly opossums (Caluromys lanatus), an opossum with young, a paca (Cuniculus paca), an iguana, a baby animal, a turtle, and a passerine bird specimen, all under care in Care and Assessment Centers (CAV).
Three other birds — two blackbirds, two bluebirds, and two doves — have already been released after overcoming the episode. The list of animals that did not survive includes three woolly opossums, a paca, two armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus), a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), a bat, and a pauraque (Nyctidromus albicollis).
In Antioquia, Corantioquia reported the rescue of a nine-banded armadillo, while Cornare documented, between late July and early August, the finding of neonates of a species of nocturnal bird burned by a forest fire on July 31, and the admission of several opossums (Didelphis marsupialis) affected by burns: an adult female who did not survive and was euthanized on August 10, and three juvenile specimens who were able to be released back into their habitat on August 9.
In Caldas, Corpocaldas reported five dead animals — a mapaná snake, a false mapaná, a squirrel, and two red-footed tortoises — and four live specimens with mild burns: a squirrel, an iguana, an anteater, and a hicotea turtle, transferred to the Eastern Caldas Wildlife Rehabilitation Center (CRFSOC) for assessment and treatment.
In Santander, the CDMB reported the admission of two Mexican tamanduas or anteaters (Tamandua mexicana) and a porcupine (Coendou prehensilis), and in Risaralda, Carder received 23 individuals of different species affected by the fire season.
The call from the authorities
Given the increasing number of wild animals affected, environmental authorities insist that much of the forest fires have a human origin and are preventable. CAM called on citizens not to carry out burns, not to throw cigarette butts or glass on the ground, and to avoid campfires in risk areas.
“In case of finding a wild animal in danger, it is recommended to contact the competent authorities or emergency organizations, who will be responsible for carrying out the rescue,” said veterinarian Leidy Paola Montealegre.
The same call was made by Cortolima, who also asked to report to the authorities cases requiring veterinary care in the department. The contact number is: +573186322529
While rescue teams remain focused on extinguishing active fires in Tolima, Huila, and Caldas, in the temporary homes and wildlife rehabilitation centers of the country another less visible task continues: sustaining the lives of those who could not escape the fire.
EDWIN CAICEDO
Environment and Health Journalist
@CaicedoUcros
