Tibanica

Tibanica Wetland Humedal Tibanica
Location in Bogotá
Location	Bosa, Bogotá Soacha, Cundinamarca  Colombia
Coordinates	4°36′07.5″N 74°12′15.9″W / 4.602083°N 74.204417°W / 4.602083; -74.204417
Area	28.8 ha (71 acres)
Elevation	2,542 m (8,340 ft)
Designated	September 2003
Named for	Muysccubun: "portal of the altars"
Administrator	EAAB - ESP
Website	Humedal Tibanica

Tibanica (Spanish: Humedal Tibanica) is a wetland, part of the Wetlands of Bogotá, located on the border of the locality Bosa, Bogotá and Soacha, Cundinamarca, Colombia. The wetland on the Bogotá savanna covers an area of about 28.8 hectares (71 acres). Tibanica is located in the Tunjuelo River basin.^[1][2]

Etymology[edit]

The name Tibanica has its origin in Muysccubun, the language of the Muisca Confederation, the former country on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense before the Spanish conquest. Tiba means "lord", niki; "gate, altar" and ica or icu refers to the supreme being in the Muisca religion, Chiminigagua or the afterlife. The accepted meaning is thus "portal of the altars"; the entrance to a sacred place for the indigenous Muisca.^[1]

Flora and fauna[edit]

Flora[edit]

Flora registered in Tibanica are among others Senna viarum, Humboldt's willow (Salix humboldtiana), common duckweed (Lemna minor), common cattail (Typha latifolia), and Juncus bogotensis.^[3]

Birds[edit]

In Tibanica, 24 bird species have been registered, of which one endemic, uniquely to this wetland, the black-winged kite (Elanus caeruleus).^[4][5]

Other bird species as the Bogotá rail (Rallus semiplumbeus), spot-flanked gallinule (Gallinula melanops bogotensis), and Apolinar's wren (Cistothorus apolinari), named after Colombian monk and ornithologist Apolinar María, have been spotted in Tibanica.^[1][3]

See also[edit]

• Biodiversity of Colombia, Bogotá savanna, Thomas van der Hammen Natural Reserve
• Wetlands of Bogotá

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• Andrade L., Martha Esperanza, and Henry Benitez Castañeda. s.a. Los Humedales de la Sabana de Bogotá: Área Importante para la Conservación de las Aves de Colombia y el Mundo, 1-38. AICAS. Accessed 2017-03-03.
• Moreno, Vanesa; Juan Francisco García, and Juan Carlos Villalba. s.a. Descripción general de los humedales de Bogotá D.C., 1-28. Sociedad Geográfica de Colombia. Accessed 2017-03-03.

External links[edit]

• (in Spanish) Fundación Humedales de Bogotá
• (in Spanish) Conozca los 15 humedales de Bogotá - El Tiempo