The Thomas van der Hammen Natural Reserve or Thomas van der Hammen Forest Reserve is an area of the

Bogotá savanna The Bogotá savanna is a montane savanna, located in the southwestern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the center of Colombia. The Bogotá savanna has an extent of and an average altitude of . The savanna is situated in the Eastern Ran ...

that is under environmental protection. The natural reserve was declared as such in year 2000 by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable development.¿A quién le sirve la CAR?
/ref> It takes its name from the Dutch-Colombian geologist

Thomas van der Hammen Thomas van der Hammen (Schiedam, Netherlands, 27 September 1924 - Chía, Colombia, 12 March 2010) was a Dutch palaeontologist, botanist and geologist. He had published more than 160 works in five languages.Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

. The protection area has the purpose of creating an

urban forest An urban forest is a forest, or a collection of trees, that grow within a city, town or a suburb. In a wider sense, it may include any kind of woody plant vegetation growing in and around human settlements. As opposed to a forest park, whose ec ...

that connects the

Bogotá River The Bogotá River is a major river of the Cundinamarca department of Colombia. A right tributary of the Magdalena River, the Bogotá River crosses the region from the northeast to the southwest and passing along the western limits of Bogotá. The ...

and the Eastern Hills of Bogotá, to preserve the underground water sources, improve the quality of the air and protect the diversity and activities of the animal species that exist there.Por qué la reserva Thomas Van Der Hammen es importante para Bogotá
/ref>

Mayor of Bogotá In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

Enrique Peñalosa Enrique Peñalosa Londoño (born 30 September 1954) is a Colombian politician. He was mayor of Bogotá from 1998 until 2001 and elected again in 2015 for the 2016–2019 term. He was prominently featured in the Panama Papers for use of off-sho ...

has proposed construction in the Reserve that could host 1.5 million people.La franja que pone a Peñalosa a defender su primer megaproyecto
- El Tiempo

Flora and fauna

The Thomas van der Hammen Natural Reserve is a rich natural area important for the

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...

of the Bogotá savanna. Several endemic species have been registered, and two newly described species of butterflies were discovered in the Reserve.

Fauna

Birds

In the area of the reserve 187 species of birds have been registered, some of which are endangered.Las aves de la Reserva Van der Hammen…¡déjenlas volar y vivir en paz!
/ref>Cortés, 2016, p.1-3 Two species, registered in the past; '' Cistothorus apolinari'' and '' Polystictus pectoralis'' have not been reported recently.Estas aves desaparecerían si Peñalosa urbaniza la reserva Thomas Van der Hammen
/ref>

Mammals

Registered mammals are among others

guinea pig The guinea pig or domestic guinea pig (''Cavia porcellus''), also known as the cavy or domestic cavy (), is a species of rodent belonging to the genus '' Cavia'' in the family Caviidae. Breeders tend to use the word ''cavy'' to describe the ...

s, Andean white-eared opossum (''Didelphis pernigra''), tigrillo (''Leopardus tigrinus''),La Reserva Van der Hammen como oportunidad para el tigrillo lanudo
/ref> long-tailed weasel (''Mustela frenata''),Comadreja reportada en la Reserva Van der Hammen
/ref> and eleven species of bats.Sánchez, 2011, p.72

= Bats

Butterflies

With 350

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

species, Colombia occupies the first position worldwide in diversity of butterflies and after

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, the second place in total number of registered butterfly species (3274).Nuevas especies de mariposas en borde norte de Bogotá
/ref> The Thomas van der Hammen Natural Reserve contains 23 (new studies report more than 26 with two new species in the genus ''

Satyrinae The Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the browns, are a subfamily of the Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies). They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known diver ...

'' discovered) species of butterflies.Los animales de la reserva Thomas van der Hammen
/ref>Las mariposas que frenarían el plan de Peñalosa en van der Hammen
/ref> Other species of butterflies have been registered:Calderón & Gualtero, 2014, p.49

Gallery

File:Reserva Thomas van der Hammen al 2016.jpg, Map of the extent in 2016 File:Humedal de la conejera.jpg,

La Conejera La Conejera ( es, Humedal La Conejera) is a wetland, part of the Wetlands of Bogotá, located in the locality Suba, Bogotá, Suba, Bogotá, Colombia. The wetland, in the Juan Amarillo River basin on the Bogotá savanna covers an area of .Moreno et ...

wetland, part of the reserve

References

Bibliography

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External links

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Bogotá diversa
{{Bogotá, state=expanded Geography of Bogotá Geography of Cundinamarca Department Altiplano Cundiboyacense Nature reserves in Colombia Protected areas established in 2000 2000 establishments in Colombia