Research groundwork for protecting the Ecuadorian mountain viscacha
Conservation focus:
Ecuadorian mountain viscacha
Scientific name:
Lagidium ahuacense
Scientific classification:
Mammals, rodents, chinchillidae
IUCN status:
EDGE status:
DD (data deficient)
Not listed (data deficient)
Threatened evolutionary history:
Unknown
Conservation priority by EDGE rank / ecosystem
Why it matters
A mammal of considerable size discovered as recently as 2005. Known from a single mountain, extremely rare, and facing numerous threats. To save the Ecuadorian mountain viscacha from extinction, we urgently need to fill the vast knowledge gaps surrounding this species and lay the necessary scientific groundwork for effective conservation.
Moreover, the Ecuadorian mountain viscacha, as a rodent, belongs to the single largest and most diverse order of mammals on Earth, accounting for over 2,400 (40% to 42%) of all living mammal species. Yet although they include numerous threatened species, they are severely underrepresented in conservation efforts. It's time to change this and stand up for a precious rodent!
Project fast facts
Focal species' population trend
Unknown
Local conservation attention
Low
Range / Project area
Ecological role
The Ecuadorian mountain viscacha is a colonial, rock-dwelling large-sized chinchillid restricted to small, isolated metamorphic rocky outcrops in the southern Ecuadorian Andes. As a strict habitat specialist and primary consumer in montane shrublands, it contributes to seed dispersal and vegetation structure around rocky refuges. Its conspicuous communal latrines and vocalizations make it a key indicator species for rocky outcrop habitat integrity.
Threats
The Ecuadorian mountain viscacha faces a high risk of extinction due to the very small known range and small number of both colonies and individuals. Most colonies occur outside formally protected areas and support only a handful of individuals each. However, there are several other important threats to its survival.
Wildfires affected all 16 known colonies at least once 2015-2020; several suffered 4-9 fire events in just five years.
At 10 of 13 assessed sites, cattle was seen overgrazing and trampling rocky outcrop vegetation. Free-ranging dogs, which pose a direct predation risk, were spotted at 5 of 13 sites.
Another key risk is habitat loss: over 95% of surrounding dry and montane forest having been lost to agricultural expansion.
Moreover, the site where the Ecuadorian mountain viscacha was detected in 2005 - one of the largest and most important rocky outcrops for the species - is affected by infrastructure and tourism pressure, with the number of individuals appearing to be in decline.
Currently this species is listed as Critically Endangered in Ecuador's national Red List (Tirira, 2021).
Grant
First awarded:
$ 8950
8 May 2026
Not listed (data deficient)
Programme owner
Árbol co(n)razón, Basel (Sponsor), Pampas Cat Working Group, Piura, Perú
Programme contact
Luis Arturo Roman-Luzuriaga
Project location
South America, Ecuador
Macara, Ecuador
Addressing the need: Project goals
The goal of this project is to discover new Ecuadorian Mountain Viscacha colonies and understand the species' ecology to define a conservation strategy.
Key goals and actions:
(1) Survey the distribution of viscachas in SW Ecuador, using habitat suitability models and targeted latrine searches at GIS-identified rocky outcrops.
(2) Identify priority conservation areas based on habitat use.
(3) Monitor activity patterns, behavioral and ecological interactions, particularly with natural predators, using camera traps at 4 priority colonies with conservation commitment
(4) Develop a community-facing strategy for the conservation and knowledge of Ecuadorian Mountain Viscacha
Conservation actions
We expect this project to result in
- Expansion of the species' known range (detection of new colonies in previously unexplored Andean areas of southwestern Ecuador), which is currently limited to 16 sites in 5 Ecuadorian municipalities.
- Enabling of a IUCN assessment: Data from studies and population estimates will support the formal IUCN Red List assessment (currently Data Deficient globally; Critically Endangered nationally).
- Habitat protection: The creation of priority outcrop maps will serve as the basis for proposals for the designation of protected areas and the development of a conservation action plan for the species.
- Establishment of key ecological information, in addition to current data on behavioral interactions (vocalization, scent marking, reproduction), forage, and predators. We will generate new knowledge about the species' natural history, including camera trap data on small wildcat predators.
This species, discovered in 2005 and described in 2009, has so far only been found on a rocky inselberg in southern Ecuador.
Understanding the ecology of this species is required for evidence-based conservation.
Mountain viscachas are rodents belonging to the Chinchilla family, genus Lagidium, with only 3 species. Chinchillas are a basal and ancient lineage of rodents.
This species, discovered in 2005 and described in 2009, has so far only been found on a rocky inselberg in southern Ecuador.