Calipuy National Sanctuary is a

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

vian protected area created on January 8, 1981. The sanctuary, adjacent to the larger Calipuy National Reserve, is located in the Santiago de Chuco Province of the La Libertad region in northwestern Peru. The Calipuy National Sanctuary, located high in the Andes Mountains, encompasses a variety of habitats. Species protected by the sanctuary include the queen-of-the-Andes and the

guanaco The guanaco (; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids, the other being the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The guanaco ...

.Calipuy National Reserve
fro
Parks Watch
Retrieved April 2009.

History

Prior to the creation of the sanctuary, the area was part of private estates which were expropriated during the agrarian reform of 1969 by the military dictatorship. These lands were given to the Agrarian Society of Social Interest (an association of former estate workers) Libertad N°18 in October 1972 and the designated 3,000 hectares of land became a protected area. However, due to

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

in the late 1980s to early 1990s, the area could no longer be protected. The area was later recovered and is now managed by National Institute of Natural Resources (INRENA) which is part of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Geography

The Calipuy National Sanctuary covers 4,500 hectares of land and is located adjacent to the Calipuy National Reserve in the Andes Mountains of northern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. The

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

of the land varies from

plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

s to slopes. During

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultur ...

, temperatures here are cold with low

precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...

, ranging from 280 to 500 mm. In summer,

can reach up to 1,200 mm in the

highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

s. Rainfall varies during the rest of the year, however, the lack of climate stations near the sanctuary limits access to accurate climate measurements. Access to water from the reserve is seasonal but there are some old

irrigation canals Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

that provide water to the area.

Ecology

Flora

Most plants are small to medium in size and grow in rocky areas. The density of

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characte ...

is highest along the hillsides of the sanctuary, with the main species being ''

Puya raimondii ''Puya raimondii'', also known as queen of the Andes (English), titanka (Quechua) or puya de Raimondi (Spanish), is the largest species of bromeliad, its inflorescences reaching up to in height. It is native to the high Andes of Bolivia and Per ...

''. There are 3,000 to 4,000 of these plants in the Calipuy National Sanctuary, reaching up to 6 meters tall. Other species in the sanctuary include: ''Cheilanthes gruinata,'' '' Stenomesson coccineum,'' ''Calliandra expansa,'' ''

Lupinus ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...

sp.,'' ''Verbena clavata,'' '' Salvia oppositiflora,

Satureja ''Satureja'' is a genus of aromatic plants of the family Lamiaceae, related to rosemary and thyme. It is native to North Africa, southern and southeastern Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia. A few New World species were formerly included ...

spp.,'' ''Urocarpidum sp.,'' ''Arcythopphyllum thymifolium,'' ''

Baccharis ''Baccharis'' is a genus of perennials and shrubs in the aster family (Asteraceae). They are commonly known as baccharises but sometimes referred to as "brooms", because many members have small thin leaves resembling the true brooms. They are ...

latifolia,'' etc.''''

Fauna

One of the purposes of creating the Calipuy National Sanctuary and national reserve was for the protection of the

. The population of this species has declined to 400-500 individuals from the 1,000 individuals that were estimated to be present in the area in 1965. Other species of mammals present in the sanctuary and the reserve include: the puma, the

Sechuran fox The Sechuran fox (''Lycalopex sechurae''), also called the Peruvian desert fox or the Sechuran zorro, is a small South American species of canid closely related to other South American "false" foxes or zorro. It gets its name for being found in ...

, the Andean fox, the

long-tailed weasel The long-tailed weasel (''Neogale frenata''), also known as the bridled weasel, masked ermine, or big stoat, is a species of mustelid distributed from southern Canada throughout all the United States and Mexico, southward through all of Central A ...

, the

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

, the spectacled bear, the

northern viscacha The northern viscacha (''Lagidium peruanum'') is a species of viscacha, a rodent in the family Chinchillidae. It is known from Peru and Chile, at elevations from 300 to 5000 m, and may also be present in Bolivia. Description The northern visca ...

, etc. Species of birds found in the sanctuary include: the

Andean condor The Andean condor (''Vultur gryphus'') is a giant South American Cathartid vulture and is the only member of the genus ''Vultur''. Found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America, the Andean condor is the larg ...

, the

black vulture The black vulture (''Coragyps atratus''), also known as the American black vulture, Mexican vulture, zopilote, urubu, or gallinazo, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the northeastern United States to Peru, Cen ...

, the scarlet-fronted parakeet, the

ornate tinamou The ornate tinamou (''Nothoprocta ornata'') is a type of tinamou commonly found in the high altitude grassland and dry shrubland in subtropical and tropical regions of west central South America.Clements, J. (2007) Etymology ''Nothoprocta'' come ...

, the black-winged ground dove, the chiguanco thrush, the Andean swallow, the rufous-collared sparrow, etc.

References

External links

*
Calipuy National Reserve and Sanctuary at Parks Watch, with photographs
{{Natural and Cultural Peruvian Heritage National sanctuaries of Peru Protected areas established in 1981 Geography of La Libertad Region