Federico Carlos Lehmann (1914-1974) was a Colombian ornithologist, plant collector and conservation biologist.
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Lehmann was born in the city of Popayán, in Cauca, Colombia. His father, a Colombia-based German explorer, died while exploring the Río Timbique, and Lehmann was largely brought up by his grandfather who encouraged his interest in geography and natural history. Following ten years of school in Berlin, Lehmann studied at the University of Cauca in Popoyán from 1929 to 1934.[1]
In 1938 Lehmann accepted a job in the Institute of Botany at the National University of Colombia in Bogotá. There he was put in charge of the collection of animal specimens, travelling throughout the country to build up the collection, and becoming increasingly interested in ornithology and in environmental protection. He became involved with the International Council for Bird Preservation (now BirdLife International) and during the 1940s and 1950s worked to promote conservation legislation.[1]
From 1956 to 1961 Lehmann was the assessor of natural resources for the Ministry of Agriculture in the departments of Valle and Cauca, his work leading to the creation of new protected areas, the Laguna de Sonso Nature Reserve, the Farallones de Cali National Natural Park, the Puracé National Natural Park, and the Los Nevados National Natural Park. He also took part in a project at the University of Valle in Cali, collecting and classifying the birds of western Colombia. In 1963 he founded the departmental Museum of Natural Sciences in Cali which, after his death in 1974, was named after him.[1] He is also commemorated in the name of Lehmann's Poison Frog.