Not so long ago, Colombia was listed as a failed state. People were trapped inside cities because of the high risk of being kidnapped, and for decades armed confrontations affecting civilians happened almost every single day. As a Colombian scientist and field biologist, I learned how to carry out research under those conditions. Countless times I had dangerous encounters with the guerrillas, the paramilitaries and the anti-guerrilla forces. I was detained a few times, had friends kidnapped and even killed, and have personally faced death at very close quarters.