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 spp.,'' ''Urocarpidum sp.,'' ''Arcythopphyllum thymifolium,'' ''Baccharis 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 Cougar, puma, the Sechuran fox, the Culpeo, Andean fox, the long-tailed weasel, the white-tailed deer, the spectacled bear, the northern viscacha, etc. Species of birds found in the sanctuary include: the Andean condor, the black vulture, the scarlet-fronted parakeet, the ornate tinamou, 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