Chile March 2019 Patagonia and Lauca, new locations for Huemel
Chile – March 2019
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Note that it is Huemul, not Huemel. Huemul Deer is the common name many use in English. They are becoming more common, definitely increasing in the Torres del Paine area, the highest densities are in the area past the plains beyond the visitors center on the way to Lago Grey. The hills here are good for them, stop and scan. The campground is likely not a reliable site, as birders visit this place all the time, and few see Huemul here. Big Whales near Punta Arenas are Sei Whales. We have been seeing them in the area for years, but Ricardo Matus reports that this year they were ALL over the place. Dolphin, the abundant species there in the Strait is Peale’s Dolphin, no other larger dolphin is expected there.
Thanks Alvaro – this is really usefuil information. Do you know anything about whales further north? We had several Bryde’s/Sei Whales off of Arica in late November that I couldn’t ID to species level (they were a long way off shore) … it would be interesting to know whether many of either species were reported that time of year.
Jon, Arica is a bit trickier as the water temperature there is OK for Bryde’s or Sei. I am not sure if anyone there knows which one occurs, I have seen Bryde’s/Sei in northern Chile and not known which species they were as I could not get positive ID features nailed down. Comparing Bryde’s I have seen in Galapagos with Sei I have seen in Magallanes, on the whole Sei seems to have a more upright fin, more swept back on Bryde’s. But it is tough, and who knows if there are other entities (taxonomic unknowns) out there. Note that in Arica you can see Burmeister’s Porpoise. I have only seen them from boats, but they have not been too far from shore. I am sure that with concerted effort one could see them from shore, eventually someone will find the key place to look.
Thanks for the info! If anyone has any information on Geoffroys Cat in Torres that would also be much appreciated. We will go to Chile for about a month in June and July, also for Kodkod on Chiloe and the mountain cats in Lauca. We will try the north instead of the south of Chiloe for Kodkod, contrary to where most tripreports have searched so it’ll be interesting to see if we will have better luck.