Reserva Ecológica El Ángel (REEA). 07/12/2012; Carchi; 17,003 ha; 00º43'51"N 077º56'43"W. National Protected Area. One of the few sites in Ecuador that protects healthy mountain ecosystems (paramo, bogs, lagoons and forests), it plays an important role in the hydrological cycle of the region, since it is the source of several rivers that benefit directly human populations. The threatened fauna species that can be found in the site include Ecuadorian grass mouse (Akodon latebricola), the andean ondor (Vultur gryphus), the Andean bear (Tremarctos ornatus), and some regional herpetofauna, like Centrolene buckleyi, Gastrotheca espeletia, Eleutherodactylus ocreatus, Eleutherodactylus grp. Devillei, and Riama simoterus. Due to its location on the high occidental Andean mountain range (at 3,200-4,200m altitude) and the north occidental zone of Ecuador, it is a strategic area for the linkage of two biodiversity hotspots (Hotspot Tropical Andes and Hotspot Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena), and it is thus also an important site for neotropical bird conservation. All the biodiversity supported by the site is pressured by the advance of agricultural frontiers, burning, hunting, fishing, climate and hydrological changes. Ramsar Site no. 2085. Most recent RIS information: 2012.