nectar intake; most of the species ate plenty fruit. On the odd occasion, some small mammals were captured by birds; kingfishers also demonstrated eating fish. Mammals Notable mammals include the giant anteater, jaguar, howler monkey, venezuelan fish-eating rat, and the capybara, the world's largest rodent. More than half of Venezuelan avian and mammalian species are found in the Amazonian forests south of the Orinoco. Some of the more unique mammals endemic to Venezuela include the howler monkey, capybara, giant anteater, giant otter, white-bellied spider monkey, crab-eating fox, sloths and jaguars. Sloths are typically found in Venezuela's tropical rainforests, crab-eating foxes live in the vast southern region, while giant anteaters can be found in different habitats across the country. Capybaras are also somewhat versatile, and prefer living near water. Mammals of the Western Llanos A study of small mammals within agricultural areas of Venezuela's Western Llanos, largely Portuguesa, showed ten rodent species and three marsupial species. Most of the different habitats across this area showed a large prevalence of the rodents Sigmodon alstoni and Zygodontomys brevicauda, which appear to dominate the region. However, areas of subsistence agriculture showed much more diversity and greater equal weighting of the inhabitant species. Some of the rodent species may be seen as pests because of their destruction of crops and for transferal of disease to humans in such rural areas of South America; both the most prevalent rodents are carriers of particularly endemic diseases. Mammals of the Maracaibo Basin The Maracaibo Basin spans northwestern Venezuela. There are two species of mammals that are both endemic to and characteristic of this region, and to similar dry forests in Colombia and Venezuela; the Guajira mouse opossum and Hummelinck's vesper mouse. Importance The use of wildlife products is widespread in Venezuela, and more than 400 species are known to be used as a source of protein (subsistence hunting) or for trade in domestic and international markets. Conservation Habitat destruction, pollution, introduction of exotic species and overexploitation are the main threats to Venezuelan wildlife. An examination of the fauna of Venezuela as spread throughout the country led a review to establish that conservation efforts should focus both on the natural areas north of the Orinoco and on the open nature reserves occupying the south. Human intervention, particularly oil work, in the Maracaibo Basin threatens the species there, and has changed the ecology of the region significantly since the 19th