Near Merida, Venezuela Photograph by Cayrn Ernst   Northern South America: Northwestern Venezuela into Colombia Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   11,400 square miles (29,400 square kilometers) -- about twice the size of Hawaii Vulnerable

· Isolation in the Mountains
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Isolation in the Mountains

Located on the Cordillera Occidental arm of the northern Andes Mountains, this ecoregion is surrounded on three sides by lowland dry forests and xeric shrublands. The isolation of this arm adds to its uniqueness. This area has outstanding diversity—it’s full of rarely seen birds and interesting mammals.

Special Features

These forests share elements from the Andean mountain forests, Orinoco forests, and, to a lesser degree, the Amazon forests. Largely a montane evergreen and semi-deciduous rain forest, vegetation changes to cloud forest and elfin woodland at higher elevations. Palms and shrubs dominate the understory. At lower elevations, trees stand about 100 to 115 feet (30 to 35 m) tall, becoming shorter (50 to 65 feet, or 15 to 20 m) at higher elevations, and eventually being overtaken by paramo grasslands above the treeline. This ecoregion contains an extraordinary diversity of orchids, bromeliads, ferns, and other plants.

	Pacas are extremely agile rodents. These two-foot-long (60 cm) rodents are able to jump three to six feet (1 to 2 m) from a standing position, turn in midair, and dart away.

Wild Side

Many of the birds that call these mountains home are colorful and endemic, including the rose-eared parakeet, Tachira emerald hummingbird, Mérida sunangel hummingbird, gray-naped antpitta, Mérida flower-piercer, and white-fronted whitestart. Other rare birds sometimes seen here include the northern helmeted curassow, rusty-faced parrot, narrow-tailed emerald hummingbird, short-tailed emerald, violet-chested hummingbird, and gray-throated warbler. At higher elevations, you might spot Andean condors flying overhead in search of carrion. Mammals include crab-eating foxes, common opossums, collared peccaries, Neotropical otters, pumas, jaguarundis, red-brocket deer, and pacas and agoutis (large rodents). Many montane forest specialists live here, including mountain coatis, mountain tapirs, northern pudus (very small deer), Colombian squirrels, and spectacled bears.

Cause for Concern

At lower elevations, the main threats to this ecoregion’s biodiversity include encroaching settlements, overhunting of larger mammals for food and the pet trade, and conversion to agriculture. At higher elevations, the forest is in decent shape because of its inaccessibility, but wherever humans can reach, hunting becomes a problem.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.