The facts about Bolivian animals you should know

Needless to say, with its unusual location in such high altitudes, Bolivia has its own nature which is worth to explore. If you are interested to know more about the animals living in Bolivia, this article will help you to expand your knowledge on the topic.

Lamas in Bolivia

Lamas have a special meaning for Bolivians. These animals have economic significance as they are a major source of meat for the residents of Bolivia, whereas they are also grown for their wool, leather and are a source of tallow. Their excrement is also used as a natural fuel.

While this is the role of lamas in the economy of Bolivia, these animals are also highly important for its culture. The foetus of a lama has been one of the major ingredients of various witchcraft rituals and can be purchased freely on so-called with markets in Bolivia. In addition to it, there is a special tradition of offering a lama’s foetus to Mother Nature to show one’s gratitude for its blessings.

Guinea pigs

Bolivians treat guinea pigs more like their food rather than guinea pigs. Actually, in this country guinea pigs are regarded to be delicacy due to its meat high in protein and low in fat which makes it quite similar to the meat of a rabbit.

Pink dolphins

Bolivia is also known for some absolutely unique animal species that are regarded as national treasures. One of them are amazing pink dolphins which live in rivers instead of oceans and seas making Bolivia perfect for their habitat even though this country does not have any access to the ocean coast.

The largest butterfly sanctuary

Bolivia is also a curious place to explore insects and especially butterflies. In fact, the largest sanctuary of butterflies is located in Bolivia and it covers 24 hectare area.

The Madidi National Park

The Madidi National Park is the area located in the Amazon forest belonging to Bolivia. This is an immense protected area of 18958 sq km which is makes the park one of the greatest preserved natural sites in the world. According to the estimations of scientists, the biodiversity in this part of the country can reach as many species as 11000 while a part of them remains undiscovered.

By the way, the pink dolphins mentioned before prefer the Amazon River as their habitat.

Dinosaur species in Bolivia

Of course, they have not been present in Bolivia for a rather long time, however, they have left around 5055 footprints in Cal Orko. According to researchers, these footprints belong to eight different dinosaur species.

What is Cal Orko? It is a gigantic limestone slab with the height of 80 metres and the length of 1.5 kilometres. The footprints were left around 68 million years ago and are imprinted on the wall.