translated from Spanish: Extinguishing cayman lays eggs on Bogota River

Bogota.- A needle alligator, a species that is endangered, laid eggs on the banks of the Bogota River, located in central Colombia and considered a basin degraded for decades by environmental pollution as a result of the dumping of rubbish and industrial waste, reported environmental sources on Wednesday. The director of the Cundinamarca Regional Autonomous Corporation (CAR), Nestor Franco, told reporters that “a needle-type crocodile mom has laid eggs very close to the banks of the Bogota River.”

The spokesman detailed that it is hoped that “in the next 90 days we may have reproduced this species in a scenario of renaturation, which means that the processes of decontamination and recovery in the upper and middle basin of the Bogota River begin to give results with regard to the possibility of strengthening the repopulation of endemic fauna that had not been identified for a long time.”
According to CAR, the “crocodylus acutus” is a threatened species that is found in a vulnerable state because it is hunted to market its skin and other parts. These alligators inhabit the Magdalena River basin, the country’s main river artery, and females lay between 30 and 70 eggs, of which very few survive due to the predation of mammals and other crocodiles.

Our Bogota River is alive! Despite all the onslaughts he has to suffer. This alligator mom laid her egg in the lower basin, on the banks of the Bogota River. Its scientific name is Crocodylus acutus. We advance all prevention and protection measures. pic.twitter.com/UkcSoro9eU — CAR Cundinamarca (@CAR_Cundi)
July 3, 2019

That is why CAR works on a program to repopulate its natural habitat through a “projection of sustainable management”. The Bogotá River, located in the department of Cundinamarca, is 347 kilometers long and crosses 46 municipalities, including the Colombian capital, and represents an influence on about 12 million people. In March 2014, the Council of State, Colombia’s highest administrative litigation tribunal, ordered the nation to take steps to recover the tributary, which is born at about 3,400 meters above sea level in Alto de la Calavera, in the municipality of Villapinzón , and flows into the Magdalena River.According to the CAR, the Bogota River, affected by tree felling, illegal water catchments, waste storage and poor disposal of waste, will be recovered in 2025.

Original source in Spanish