• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

Site description (2007 baseline)
The Victoria-Mayaro Forest Reserve is found at the southeast corner of Trinidad. The reserve comprises in excess of 50000 ha and is mainly forested. However, there are a few farms and small settlements within the reserve and a number of roads and pipelines pass through. Much of the area is currently leased to the State-owned petroleum company for exploration and extraction of oil, which in part provides some degree of protection, at least against shifting agriculture and bush fires. Within the reserve the Trinity Hills rise to 303m and represent the eastern end of the Southern Range. The hillsides of the Trinity Hills are very steep and provide an element of protection. Surrounding habitation includes a fishing village to the east, several oil installations, and service providers to the oil and natural gas industries. The area is a favoured location for hunters.

Key biodiversity
The Victoria-Mayaro Reserve is infrequently visited by birdwatchers due in part to the long distance from the main population centres. In 1972 the Trinity Hills Wildlife Sanctuary was thought to hold the last surviving Trinidad Piping-guans, as at this time there were no recent records from the Northern Range. One credible record of Piping Guans was made for the area in 2000, but this record was not submitted to the local records committee. Nevertheless the site offers the possibility of a second population of the critically endangered Trinidad Piping–guan. The site is also of national importance to the birds and terrestrial mammals as it represents one of the largest areas of intact forest in Trinidad and Tobago.

Non-bird biodiversity: The Trinidad and Tobago endemic frog Eleutherodactylus urichi is found at the Trinity hills and surrounding forest

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Victoria-Mayaro Forest Reserve (Trinidad and Tobago). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/victoria-mayaro-forest-reserve-iba-trinidad-and-tobago on 22/11/2024.