Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve is a protected natural area in

Chiapas Chiapas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas, is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It comprises Municipalities of Chiapas, 124 municipalities and its capital and large ...

state of southern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. The reserve protects 3312 km² of the

Lacandon Jungle The Lacandon Jungle ( Spanish: ''Selva Lacandona'') is an area of rainforest which stretches from Chiapas, Mexico, into Guatemala. The heart of this rainforest is located in the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas near the border with Gu ...

, a lowland tropical rainforest.

Geography

Montes Azules Biosphere reserve adjoins Lacan-Tun Biosphere Reserve on the east, and is bounded by the Lacantun River, a tributary of the Usumacinta, on the south.

Flora and fauna

The reserve contains 500 species of trees. More than 390 species of birds have been recorded in the reserve, almost half of all known species in Mexico. There are 116 species of mammals present, including the

white-lipped peccary The white-lipped peccary (''Tayassu pecari'') is a species of peccary found in Central and South America and the only member of the genus ''Tayassu''. Multiple subspecies have been identified. White-lipped peccaries are similar in appearance ...

(''Tayassu pecari'') and

northern tamandua The northern tamandua (''Tamandua mexicana'') is a species of tamandua, an anteater in the family Myrmecophagidae. They live in tropical and subtropical forests from southern Mexico, through Central America, and to the edge of the northern Andes. ...

(''Tamandua mexicana''). Native reptiles include Morelet's crocodile (''Crocodylus moreletii'').

Conservation

Historically the forest was exploited for

chicle Chicle () is a natural gum traditionally used in making chewing gum and other products. It is collected from several species of Mesoamerican trees in the genus '' Manilkara'', including '' M. zapota'', '' M. chicle'', '' M. staminodella'', and ...

and

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

. The reserve is currently threatened by timber cutting and people setting fire to the forest to clear areas for cattle raising and farming.

References

{{Authority control Biosphere reserves of Mexico Protected areas of Chiapas Petén–Veracruz moist forests Chiapas montane forests