Meltwater from snow supports more life, at higher altitudes, on Licancabur than on similar mountains. Grasses, tola bushes, butterflies, flies and lizards are found as high as . Life further down the mountain could be supported by the fertilizing effect of dust from volcanic rocks. Polylepis incana might have been more prevalent at Licancabur during wetter times, and is now more common in Bolivia. Chinchillas were found as high as in 1955. The upper parts of the mountain had been avoided by hunters, and after some high-altitude attempts during the 1920s chinchilla hunting disappeared from the area. Licancabur is part of the Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve.