I can´t claim that these are any of our best photos, but wildlife is wiley like that--rarely standing still or visible at the perfect moment--though I would sit for hours on the bus, camera in hand, waiting for another guanaco to run gracefully past, as six had done before I got the camera out... But we have seen some really fun native fauna, so here are some pictures.
These are guanaco--a native, wild llama-like animal that lives on the plains of Patagonia, where it has a good view of any approaching cougars, its only natural predator. Guanacos struggled in some places, but they are doing really well in Torres del Paine National Park, and their healthy status is considered a success of the park. Sorry, this is really a picture of guanaco butts, but I took this from the window of a bus.
Another bus shot, that unfortuantely cuts off the large female nandu (ostrich like bird, also very common on the Patagonian steppe.) But the gaggle of baby nandu were so cute, the entire bus let out a collective "aaahhh!"
Our favorite birds--a native ibis, known variously as the black-necked, black-faced, or buff-necked ibis. We learned to recognize their goose like "honk", which is what alerted me to their presence in this field of daisies. Did you know that Patagonia also has a native parakeet, and native flamingos? Talk about a strange juxtaposition--you are standing looking at a glacier when a flock of parakeets wheels past making their characteristic squaks that I associate very clearly with the tropics. Never mind seeing the pink flamingos... which in the States live only in Florida and further south where it is warmer!
Fox! This was an amazing sighting, and only the dark hour (probably 10:00 at night here) kept me from getting a good shot, as this cagey fox was circling the camp for about 30 minutes, even boldly dropping in to pee a territory marker on a tree within camp. Here Mr. Fox was sitting..scratching, yawning...at the edge of camp...probably waiting for a handout. This is a native Patagonian fox (or southern red fox). Foxes are great, and it was fun to observe one for so long!
These are guanaco--a native, wild llama-like animal that lives on the plains of Patagonia, where it has a good view of any approaching cougars, its only natural predator. Guanacos struggled in some places, but they are doing really well in Torres del Paine National Park, and their healthy status is considered a success of the park. Sorry, this is really a picture of guanaco butts, but I took this from the window of a bus.
Another bus shot, that unfortuantely cuts off the large female nandu (ostrich like bird, also very common on the Patagonian steppe.) But the gaggle of baby nandu were so cute, the entire bus let out a collective "aaahhh!"
Our favorite birds--a native ibis, known variously as the black-necked, black-faced, or buff-necked ibis. We learned to recognize their goose like "honk", which is what alerted me to their presence in this field of daisies. Did you know that Patagonia also has a native parakeet, and native flamingos? Talk about a strange juxtaposition--you are standing looking at a glacier when a flock of parakeets wheels past making their characteristic squaks that I associate very clearly with the tropics. Never mind seeing the pink flamingos... which in the States live only in Florida and further south where it is warmer!
Fox! This was an amazing sighting, and only the dark hour (probably 10:00 at night here) kept me from getting a good shot, as this cagey fox was circling the camp for about 30 minutes, even boldly dropping in to pee a territory marker on a tree within camp. Here Mr. Fox was sitting..scratching, yawning...at the edge of camp...probably waiting for a handout. This is a native Patagonian fox (or southern red fox). Foxes are great, and it was fun to observe one for so long!
Happy goose! This very common goose was walking around another camp with her adorable gaggle of fluffy chicks, while the male goose (which is white) stood alertly near by.
On another random fauna note, Patagonia has no bears, and indeed no predators larger than the cougar. I guess they never made it down here!
On another random fauna note, Patagonia has no bears, and indeed no predators larger than the cougar. I guess they never made it down here!
1 comment:
Hey, R and M: Thank you for this wonderful travel log. Wow! It's quite fun to have time to read about your trip and drool over the photos. Just to prepare you, I have extra time because today is a 2 hour late start at school. Yep, we had another little windy, snowy (just a trace here, but King Co. got hammered) storm and now it's about 25 degrees outside. I heard that B'ham is 1 degree when you factor in windchill.
I miss you and look forward to your return to the northwest. Enjoy your last week.
Lin
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