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| The Bolivian "88" butterfly |
Whether you are sailing along on Lake Titicaca at 12,500 feet, tramping through the Yungas (steamy cloud forest), walking through glaciers along the altiplano, paddling a dugout canoe through the Bolivian Amazon or taking in the bizarre Salar de Uyuni salt sea, Bolivia has something for everyone. Its biodiversity is staggering.
Bolivia is one of four countries with the highest abundance of butterflies and one of eight countries with the highest abundance of bird species. In belongs to the Tropical Andes, according to biodiversityhotspots.org, is the richest and most diverse region on Earth, with about a sixth of all plant life in less than 1 percent of the world’s land area.
Bolivia has 4 biomes, 14 ecoregions and 199 ecosystems. The main biomes are jungle, forest, savannah, tundra, steppe, desert and wetlands. At the moment, more than 14,000 higher plant species, 325 mammals, 186 amphibians, 260 reptiles, 550 fish species and 1,379 birds are inventoried.
Don't like what you see in Bolivia? Jump on a bus and you'll be in a completely different ecosystem very quickly.
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Yes, and I particularly like how everything changes so much with changes in altitude - from sweltering on the coast to bright-eyed on the altiplano.
ReplyDeleteThat really is incredible. Especially as it is quite a small country.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize the biodiversity of Bolivia. I'm even more excited to get there... in a few months :-)
ReplyDeleteVery cool! The design on that butterfly is amazing. I guess we'll have to add Bolivia to our list of "must sees" someday. Sounds amazing!
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