Indigenous, autochthonous, wild or native. These are the four terms used to define and group plants and animals that live in the wild, without being domesticated, in a given territory. The wild fauna of a country, in addition to including autochthonous species, also includes introduced species. Autochthonous or native species are those that belong to a given region or ecosystem. Their presence in that region is the result of natural phenomena without past or current human intervention. Introduced species are animals or plants that have been transported by humans, either accidentally or deliberately, to a new location where the species may or may not become established.
Why did we choose the title of this work Indigenous Fauna? For the simple reason that the focus is on native wildlife, the animals that have lived in this territory, which we now call Uruguay, since before there were any significant human settlements in this territory. Do we now have any way of knowing if any of these animal species were introduced by humans in primitive times? No, we don't, that's why we chose the term indigenous fauna, because we are presenting the animal species that have inhabited this territory since before European colonization.
Author: Augusto Giussi
