CALILEGUA NATIONAL PARK

FAUNA
In the Yungas we find various animal species according to the multiplicity of the environments, vegetation strata and altitudinal floors. Many of these species, especially birds, carry out seasonal journeys from the higher zones to the lower zones in winter, and inversely in summer.

This group of vertebrates is the most numerous, with about 350 registered species in the Park. Many of them live exclusively in this geographical area, the Yungas, and are never found in any other natural environment of Argentina.

The most characteristic species are the poma eagle, a huge endangered predator, big parrots such as the green macaw, the red-faced and orange forehead macaw, the alder parrot (characteristic of the alder forests), jungle guans such as the red-faced guan, an endemic species in the region, and a multitude of humming-birds, as well as small fruit eating, climbing and insectivorous birds.

Among the mammals we will first name the herbivores, represented by the tapir, the white lipped peccary and the collared peccary, the red and brown so called corzuelas, the agouti and the tapeti, a native rabbit.

In the high pasture-grounds we find another native deer, the taruca or guemul, which is an endangered species due to hunting, since it is considered a valuable trophy. Carnivores are plentiful, whether big-sized ones such as the jaguar (an endangered species) and the puma, or medium-sized ones such as the big tayra, the ocelot and the woods fox.

Many mammal species have exclusive arboreal habits, such as squirrels, which run along the trees in search of fruits and seeds, and the Cai monkey, which moves in small groups around the tops of the trees.

There is an atypical group of amphibians in this biome: marsupial frogs. These species place their eggs in bags or marsupia on their backs, where all the larva develop. Once the time comes, completely formed little frogs leave the marsupium. Invertebrate fauna, although it has not been studied much, is known to be diverse and rich. The most common forms are the ones that abound in the jungle regions of Misiones and the Amazon.

Among the fish we find 12 species; these we we can mention: moharras, tararira (Hoplias malabarious), shad, catfish and bream; there are 29 different reptiles such as vipers (the coral), snakes (the false coral) and the red iguana.

FLORA
In the Yungas, climatic conditions such as rain, humidity and temperature vary abruptly with altitude, even when they are very close points.

Thus, valleys and low zones have a warm and less rainy weather, with less frost. On the slopes, temperatures are lower, but precipitations are less abundant. And in higher zones we move to a drier climate with cold winters and frequent snowfall.

These particular circumstances determine the existence of a series of vegetation floors that differ very much from each other. On the plains at the foot of the mountains and on low mountain ranges, we find what is named the Selva Basal or Transition Jungle, thus called because it is located between the Jungle proper and the dry forests of the Chaco.

Main trees in this geographical region are the so called palo blanco, the palo lanza, the white Tipa, the jacaranda, the Red Cebil, the horco cebil, the lapachos, among other species. Since rains at this altitude don't go above 1,100 mm, a dry season coinciding with winter is defined, a time when most trees lose their foliage.

Mountainous jungles, placed on top of the previous formation, occupy eastern slopes and form an impenetrable forest mass which, usually, is covered with clouds during summer and the beginning of autumn. These clouds turn this formation into the most humid of all, with rains of up to 3,000 mm per year.

These characteristics determine a humid and dark interior environment where lianas, vines and epiphyte plants interweave and vegetate on logs and tree branches, covering them almost completely. Evergreens predominate here and their size is much bigger than in the Selva Basal since they can reach heights of 30 m.

This group of giant vegetables is formed by the skirt laurel tree with a trunk that reaches 2.5 m in diametre, the horco molle or palo barroso, the Creole walnut which eatable nuts , and numerous Myrtaceae (of the family of Myrtles and Eucalyptuses) such as the so called mato, the guil, the horco-mato, the alpa-mato and others that characterize, when they are abundant, a particular formation named Selva de Mirtaceas or Myrtle Forest.

As we climb the slopes, we leave the jungle with evergreens and the traveller will again find deciduous trees that live in the so-called Bosque Montano. This formation has to endure cold and dry winters, and scarce rainfall (only 400 mm).

We can note the difference between three types of forest: mountain pine, alder and queñoa forests. Mountain pine is the only conifer that lives in the Argentinean Northwest. The alder, which reaches sll the way up to Mexico, is located on steep slopes. The queñoa is a small tree with a twisted trunk that can be found up to 3,000 m.a.s.l. on rock walls, reaching a height of up to 6 m.

On top of the Bosques Montanos, we find the Prados Montanos, totally formed by grassy and herbaceous plants that blossom during the rainy season and give the countryside unsurpassable beauty.