Viviendo en los Andes: registros notables de la distribución altitudinal del oso andino, Tremarctos ornatus (Ursidae) en Boyacá, Colombia

Abstract

Living in the Andes: noteworthy records on the altitudinal distribution of the Andean bear Tremarctos ornatus (Ursidae) in Boyacá, Colombia Despite the importance of Andean bears, much relevant information regarding their distribution is lacking. Endemic to the Andes, the species is known to occupy the entire elevation gradient, but records to support this assumption are scarce. Here we present recent evidence of their presence in peri-glacial (> 4,000 m) and tropical forests (< 1.000 m) areas in the Eastern Andes of Colombia. Based on existing records and our own field work, we report 23 new records for marginal elevations, including the first records to be published for the Boyacá department. This information is valuable in order to increase our knowledge of Andean bear habitat use and distribution and thereby improve decision-making for the management of the species and its associated ecosystems. Data published through GBIF (Doi: 10.15470/32uicm) Key words: Elevation, Andean Range, Spectacled Bear, Boyacá