What Wildlife Is Found In The Andes?

The vicuña and guanaco can be found living in the Altiplano, while the closely related domesticated llama and alpaca are widely kept by locals as pack animals and for their meat and wool. Cougars are also found in the region and play an important role in many Andean cultures together with the llama.

What is the animal most typical of the Andes region?

The guanaco is one of the most common animals living in the Andes region. This camelid species (Lama guanicoe) is about 1.0 to 1.2 meters tall. Guanacos live in herds of females with their offsprings led by a dominant male. The male protects the group from intruders and threats.

What predators live in the Andes?

In this system, Andean bears and pumas are the top predators, while mountain tapir, three species of cervidae (hoofed ruminants), tapití (an endemic rabbit), mountain paca, and Andean bears are the primary herbivores (Tirira, 2007).

How many species of animals live in the Andes?

In the Andes about 3,700 species of animals can be found, including 500 species of mammals, 1,600 species of birds, 500 species of reptiles, and 300 species of fishes, and more than 100 species of amphibians. High mountains are a dreary habitat for wild life, so mammals living there have thick woolly fur.

What is Andes famous for?

The Andes is the longest mountain range in the world and boasts some of the highest peaks. The range is also known for its volcanoes, ruins of long-ago civilizations and the source of a malaria treatment.

What is the rarest animal in the Andes?

The Andean mountain cat (Leopardus jacobita) is a small wild cat native to the high Andes that has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List because fewer than 1,500 individuals are thought to exist in the wild. It is traditionally considered a sacred animal by indigenous Aymara and Quechua people.

Are there wolves in the Andes?

Culpeo – Lycalopex culpaeus, also known as an Andean wolf.

Are there snakes in the Andes?

Geographic range. Milk snakes range throughout the Americas, from Canada south to Ecuador. The Andean subspecies of milk snake occurs in the Andes mountains of Colombia and Venezuela.

Are there jaguars in Andes?

Currently there are between 2,000 and 3,000 registered jaguars in this Andean country. But based on the number of confiscated fangs, it is possible that poaching has wiped out more than 200 of these jaguars in recent years, calculates Aliaga-Rossel.

Are there poisonous snakes in the Andes?

Bothrocophias andianus is a venomous pit viper species endemic to the Andes in South America.

What animal is native to the Andes mountains?

Some of the most well-known are the vicuna, guanaco, llama, and alpaca. Some other native animals include the yellow-tailed wooly monkey, chinchilla, taruca, huemul, South American fox, and the mountain tapir.

Which animal is the lion of the Andes?

The South American cougar (Puma concolor concolor), also known as the Andean mountain lion or puma, is a cougar subspecies occurring in northern and western South America, from Colombia and Venezuela to Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile.

What are 5 facts about the Andes mountains?

10 Fascinating Facts About the Andes Mountains

  • The Andes Mountains are so much more than just one mountain range.
  • Most Andean peaks are volcanic.
  • The world’s highest/largest/biggest etc is probably here.
  • The Andes are a haven of biodiversity.
  • The Andes is the source of the astounding Amazon River.

Do humans live in the Andes?

From Patagonia to the southern limits of the Bolivian Altiplano, the Andes are sparsely populated; a few small groups of shepherds and farmers live on the lower slopes and vegas of the cordillera.

What are 3 interesting facts about the Andes mountains?

Andes Mountains: Facts & Related Content
The summit of Mount Chimborazo in the Andes is the planet’s tallest point when measured from the Earth’s center. The Andes are the longest mountain chain in the world. Potatoes and tomatoes originated in the Andes.

Who owns Andes mountains?

The Andes extend from north to south through seven South American countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.

What is the weirdest animal found?

Here are 10 of the strangest animals that inhabit our planet.

  • Komondor Dog.
  • Echidna.
  • Aye-aye.
  • Axolotl.
  • Platypus.
  • Dumbo octopus.
  • Sloth.
  • Turritopsis nutricula.

Who is the rarest animal in the world?

1. Javan Rhinos. Once found throughout south-east Asia, Javan rhinos have suffered a staggering decline in their numbers due to hunting and habitat loss. The lone wild population of Javan rhinos is one of the rarest of the rhino species—around 75 individuals—which can only be found on the island of Java, Indonesia.

Are there bears in the Andes?

Andean bears are South America’s only bears and live in the Andes and outlying mountain ranges, from western Venezuela south to Bolivia. A few have been reported from eastern Panama and extreme northern Argentina. Andean bears live in a variety of mountain habitats.

Do monkeys live in the Andes?

Andean night monkeys (Aotus miconax), also known as Peruvian night monkeys, are endemic to the South American country of Peru, in the Andes Mountains. They are found between elevations of 2,600 to 10,200 feet (800–3,100 meters) in the humid cloud forests of the mountains.

What rodent lives in the Andes?

Chinchillas are a species of rodent that are native to the Andes Mountains in South America. They tend to live in colonies called “herds” and are most often found at high elevations up to 4,270 meters (14,000 feet).