Objectives:

To evaluate the current state of the Mammals Collection of the Natural History Museum at Universidad de Caldas.

Scope:

Due to the use of the collections in the research and the teaching processes, they require periodic monitoring to avoid deterioration, and guarantee their permanence.

Methodology:

The systematization (update of the database to 2017-2018) and identification of the specimens was carried out, and the Health Index (ISC) was calculated with the purpose of comparing the current conditions with the ideal conditions suggested for all the biological collections in the country.

Main results:

The Mammals collection has more than 1500 catalogued specimens belonging to 12 orders, 37 families, and 179 species, with 85.5% of the specimens identified up to species. The most representative orders within the collection are Chiroptera with 1019 specimens of 96 species, with 89.5% of the individuals identified up to species. Rodentia is the second order in representation with 243 specimens and 33 species where 83.4% of the individuals are identified up to species. The ISC for 2018 was 74%, which indicates that the collection presents ideal storage conditions and identification of the housed specimens.

Conclusions:

Constant evaluation of the state of the collection is required due to its dynamics.

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