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The reported distribution
of the Spectacled bear in Venezuela spans the wild areas (forests and páramos)
across Mérida
Mountain
Range,
El Tamá Massif and the
Perijá Mountain chain.
The identifiable areas of presence, confirmed or probable (*) are as
follows: |
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Lara
State:
1.
Cerro
El Pingano – Fila El Frío -
Headwaters
of the
Bocoy
river.
Municipality of Jiménez, 25 Km. East - Northeast
of Acarigua.
2.
Cerro
Llorón - Fila Los Ranchitos -
Fila
Miracuy.
Municipality of Jiménez, 42 Km. East of Acarigua.
3.
Cerro
María Lionza (*),
border between the Municipalities of Morán (Lara)
and Guanare (Portuguesa), 21 Km. South - Southeast of Guaríco.
4.
Fila
La Escalera – Fila Miracuy.
5.
El Junquito
Mountain
– Villanueva
Mountains
(*).
6.
Páramo
Los Nepes - Cerro El Cepo
(*), Municipality of Morán, 9 Km. South of Barbacoas.
Trujillo
State:
1.
Mountains
Southeast of Chejendé (*). Municipality of Carache, Southeast of Chejendé.
2.
Páramo
de Guaramacal - Páramo de Agua
Fría.
Municipality of Boconó, 5 Km. Southeast of Boconó.
3.
Fila Llano Grande –
Páramo Masparro,
3 Km. Southeast from Niquitao.
Mérida
State:
1.
Páramo
de Don Pedro – Serranía de Santo Domingo.
South slope,
Sierra Nevada of Mérida.
2.
Cerro
San Antonio- Páramo del Oro (*).
North slope,
Sierra Nevada of Mérida.
3.
Páramo
de Aricagua – Páramo de Buenos Aires. Municipalities of Libertador and
Arzobispo Chacón.
4.
Páramo
de Altamira – Páramo El Serrucho – Filo Mucutiris (*), between the
Nuestra Señora, Chama and Mucutuy rivers.
5.
Páramos
Las Tapias- Río Negro - El Molino.
6.
Fila
Santa Rosa – Montañas de Caparo.
7.
Páramo
El Escorial.
8.
Páramo
de Los Conejos - Piedras Blancas.
9.
Valle
Grande - La Pedregosa - Las Gonzáles.
10.
Páramo
El Tambor.
Táchira
State:
1.
Páramo
de Batallón - Páramo del Oso – Filo de Caricuena (*), Municipality of Jauregui, 3 Km.
South of La Grita.
2.
Cerro
La Maravilla, 5 Km.
East of San Cristóbal.
3.
Páramo
La Revancha - Cerro Urumal
– Cadena de Burgua.
Zulia
State:
1. Serranía de Valledupar – Sierra de Motilones, Municipality of Perijá.
ALTITUDE
RANGE.
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The
lower altitude limit for the distribution of the Spectacled bear in Venezuela
was reported to be approximately 800 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.), being demarcated
mostly by human settlements across the rivers lowland areas and in areas
of
moderate relief located in the Andean foothill deposits. However, we
cannot rule out the presence of individuals of this species in unpopulated wild
areas below the 800 m.a.s.l. |
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The upper altitude limit of these animals corresponds to the ecotone páramo – cloud forests, located between 2,900 and 3,200 m.a.s.l. Although the Spectacled bear utilizes some of the resources in the Andean páramo, we cannot refer to it as being a páramo animal, but more as a resident of the cloud forests, which occasionally uses the high altitude ecosystems.
Credits in Photos:
- Sunrise in the cloud forest, © Jaime Bautista, AndígenA.
- Cloud forest of the Sierra Nevada National Park (Altitude Range), © AndígenA.