| Popis: |
In Colombia, there are two capybara species: the lesser capybara (Hydrochoerus isthmius) and the capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris). The lesser capybara is found in the Caribbean region, the northern end of the Pacific region and the inter-Andean valleys of the Cauca and Magdalena rivers, while the capybara inhabits the biogeographic regions of Amazonia and Orinoquia (Fig. 19.1; Leon 1974; Torres and Sanabria 1976). Capybaras from the Orinoquia region were taken to recreational country houses in the Cauca valley, and from there, they escaped into river and wetland ecosystems, to which they successfully adapted (Moreira et al. 2012a). Encounters between two species of the same genus, such as the capybara and the lesser capybara, can lead to hybridization, which may have detrimental effects on hybrid descendants or, if extensive, may result in the local extinction of both parental species. |
