Olingo des Andes

Of the entire land area predicted to be suitable for Olinguito occurrence, 42% has been converted to agriculture or urban areas and 21% comprises other unforested landscapes; only 37% (40,760 km²) of this land area is currently forested (Helgen et al. 2013).

The long-term survival of B. neblina will depend on the preservation of those upland forest fragments that remain, and restoration of degraded habitat to maintain connectivity between populations (Helgen et al. 2013). Its discovery introduces a novel flagship species around which to rally conservation initiatives in the region. Preserving cloud forests in this region would benefit the long-term conservation of the Olinguito, and many other Northern Andean cloud forest endemics.

Helgen et al. (2013) used bioclimatic models to identify a number of high-priority candidate regions where further exploration is needed to assess whether additional populations of the Olinguito, or other distinctive high-elevation Bassaricyon populations, are present.

The species was recently confirmed in a protected area of Antioquia, Colombia (Reserva San Sebastian-La Castellana; A. Arias-Alzate pers. comm. 2014).