Animal Info - Guyana

(Also known as the Co-operative Republic of Guyana; formerly British Guiana)

Threatened Species, Environmental and Social Data (Mammals, Biodiversity/Ecosystems, Population, Area/Land Use, Protected Lands, Economy, Education), References and Links

Threatened Species

Threatened Species: The following list includes all mammals which occur in Guyana and are rated as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN) or Vulnerable (VU) in the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals.

Endangered:
- Giant Armadillo (Priodontes maximus).
- Giant Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis).
- Venezuelan Fish-eating Rat (Neusticomys venezuelae).
Vulnerable:
- Amazonian Manatee (Trichechus inunguis).
- American Manatee (Trichechus manatus).
- Boto (Amazon River Dolphin) (Inia geoffrensis).
- Bush Dog (Speothos venaticus).
- Giant Anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla).
- Greater Ghost Bat (Diclidurus ingens).
- Guianan Bonneted Bat (Eumops maurus)

Environmental and Social Data

Mammals

Total number of species: 193 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of endemic species: 1 (Groombridge & Jenkins 1994)
Number of threatened species: 1996: 10 (5.2 % of total species) (IUCN 1996); 2000: 9 (4.7 % of total species) (IUCN 2000) 9

Biodiversity/Ecosystems

Guyana contains portions of the Guayanan Forests, Orinoco-Amazon Mangroves & Coastal Swamps, and Guayanan Highlands Freshwater Ecosystems Global 200 Ecoregions (Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999)

Population

Population in 1995: 835,000 (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population density in 1995: 3.9 people/sq km (10.1 people/sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Population in 1998: 707,954 (World Almanac 1999)

Area/Land Use

Area: 214,969 sq km (83,000 sq mi) (Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995)
Percentages of primary world ecosystem types:

Other Coastal Aquatic: 5 %
Major Wetland: 4 %
Grass and Shrub: 23 %
Crop and Settlements: 4 %
Interrupted Woods: 1 %
Major Forests: 63 %

(Groombridge 1992)

Percent of land area classified as the following degree of human disturbance: Low: 98 %; Medium: 1 %; High: 1 % (WRI 1994)

Protected Lands

Area: 120 sq km (46 sq mi) (Groombridge 1992)
Percent of land protected: 0.05 % totally protected; 0 % partially protected; 0.05 % totally or partially protected (Groombridge 1992)

Economy

Per capita GNP ($ U.S.) (1991): $302 (WRI 1994)
Per capita GDP ($ U.S.) (1996): $2,490 (World Almanac 1999)

Education

Percent adult literacy: Female: 95 % (1990), 89 % (1970); Male: 98 % (1990), 94 % (1970) (WRI 1994)

References and Links

References: Groombridge 1992, Groombridge & Jenkins 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, 2004 IUCN, Natl. Geog. Soc. 1995, Olson & Dinerstein 1998, Olson & Dinerstein 1999, World Almanac 1999, WRI 1994

General Links (After you get to one of these sites, click on the link for Guyana): CIA World Factbook, Foreign Embassies of Washington, D.C., Library of Congress - Country Studies, University of Texas - Country Maps, Washington Post - Countries, World Resources Institute - Country Profiles; Links for Guyana: Guyana News and Information, United Nations Development Program - Guyana, World Wildlife Fund - Guianas

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Last modified: November 5, 2005;