Originally found in montane forests and paramos at altitudes between 1,000 and 3,500 m asl in mountain chains and massifs crossing over Venezuela (Zulia, Tachira, Apure, Merida, and Trujillo) and Colombia (La Guajira, Cesar, Norte de Santander, Santander, Boyaca). Linares (1998) reports M. bricenii as present on the eastern flank of Perija massive based on animal body parts that he collected at 3,100 m in Cerro Viruela near Pico Tetari. Thus, it is highly probable that the species also occupies paramos on the Colombian side of Perija.

The main habitat of M. bricenii is paramos and tropical montane cloud forests above 1,500 m. The paramos are high altitude grasslands (Boom et al. 2001), which are dominated by Calamagrostis spp. and gigantic Andean rosette plants from the genus Espeletia (Luteyn 1992). The tropical montane cloud forest is a type of vegetation that has special climatic conditions causing cloud and mist to be regularly in contact with the forest vegetation (Bruijnzeel and Veneklaas 1998). These forests support ecosystems of distinctive floristic and structural forms with lower canopy and thicker understory than lowland forests (Grubb et al. 1963). Details on M. bricenii ecology are unknown, although it seems to be solitary, active at day as well as at night, and expected to be a browser/frugivore in the forest understory. They are shy and secretive animals, rarely seen because of their nocturnal habits. They live either alone or in pairs and normally within a small territory. They usually defecate in latrines probably located at boundaries of territories. Further research is required.

This species is patchily distributed in the high Andes in northern Colombia and western Venezuela. According to present forest distribution, the largest populations of M. bricenii should be located in the following Venezuelan national parks: El Tama National Park, between Táchira and Apure states; Páramos del Batallón National Park between Mérida and Táchira states; Sierra Nevada National Park between Barinas and Mérida states; Sierra de la Culata National Park in Mérida and Trujillo states; Guaramacal National Park also known as "General Cruz Carrillo" in the state of Trujillo, with a small portion located in the state of Portuguesa (Utrera 1999); and Dinira National Park located in Sierra de Barbacoas, in watersheds of Tocuyo river between Lara, Portuguesa and Trujillo states. Dinira and Guaramacal probably form the eastern most location of the species within Venezuela. Some populations might be expected outside protected areas in the hinterlands between Sierra Nevada and Páramos del Batallon national parks, an area known as Pueblos del Sur de Mérida, and between Guaramacal and Sierra Nevada national parks, known as Ramal de Calderas. In Colombia it is found in Tama national park in Norte de Santander state and possibly in Cocuy national park between Boyaca, Arauca and Casanare states. The southern distribution limit is unknown.

Some populations are probably present in all Venezuelan Andean national parks, but hunting still occurs and the effect of hunting on its populations is unknown (Rodriguez and Rojas-Suarez 1995). The protected areas overlapping Merida Brocket distribution and the establishment of corridors between the parks could protect a large part of Merida Brocket populations. Additionally consensus building is needed among key social and political actors, with top-down and bottom-up approaches that consider ecological, social, and political sustainability (Yerena et al. 2003). Hunting of Merida Brocket is against the law in Venezuela since 1979, when a general ban on hunting of this species was formalized due to the low density (República de Venezuela 1980). It is actually considered an endangered species in Venezuela (República de Venezuela 1996 a,b).