FAUNA IN CHUBUT

The number and quality of the fauna species are greater than those of the flora in this ecological system. The changes caused by man by introducing species such as the red deer (Cervus elaphus), the European deer (Dama dama), the wild boar (Sus scrofa), the hare and the cattle, together with fishes of fresh waters such as the rainbow trout, and the salmon, substantially altered the habitat of some animals.

The jaguar (tiger), the mined wolf, the pampas deer and the peccary have vanished from the region. The habitat of species such as the sea elephant, which stretched up to the Bay of San Blas, has been restricted while the habitat of other species has widened, such as that of the vizcacha, whose southern limit was the Negro River and of the tayra, which came from the north. And finally, guanacos, Patagonian hares, armadillos, land turtles, kingfishers, and of two rhea species (the common rhea of the pampas, and the small one, Patagonian proper) have diminished.

The fauna is distributed in three large areas:

Mountain region
The great richness of the place is caused by the regulating action on the temperature of the warm current of Brazil, which keeps the sea at temperate warmth all the way to the southernmost end of the zone.

The grey foxes, furry foxes, Patagonian hares and guanacos, which are usually in self-confident groups, are frequently spotted here together with the pampas cat, and tayras, Southern river otters, Lontra provocax, hares,crossbred otters and minks.

In the sea we record whales, dolphins and killer whales that regulate the population of seals; the single-haired seal, name used to distinguish it from its closest kin, the fur seal or two-haired seal; sea elephants, seals, Commerson's dolphins and common dolphins, the latter still dare to raid a few km upstream in the rivers.

Different bird species: albatrosses, cormorants, seagulls, terns, and Magellan penguins, the best known of them all and main attraction in the place. Close to the far end of Punta Tombo we can see the colony of cormorants. The black-necked or rocky cormorants makes its nest on the vertical cliffs on the edge of the colony.

At the same time, we can watch colonies of cook seagulls, Austral gulls, flying steam ducks, skuas or holders, two species of oyster eaters and Antarctica pigeons. Other water birds are the great bustard (Otis tarda) and the common grebe. On the other hand, there are birds of prey as effective as the giant petrel.

Patagonian steppe region
The Patagonian steppe, which develops in the region of Patagonia, at the foot of the Andes, in Chubut, has a fauna similar to that of the mountain, where the guanacos, the mara or Patagonian hare and the small rhea are predominant.

Sub-Antarctica forest
The aboriginal fauna is characterised by a species on the brink of extinction: the huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus), one of the two native deer in this part of the earth. The other one is the native southern pudu, which has become one of the best-known animal species in the region because of its smallness. The adult can roughly weigh 10 to 12 kg and is hardly above 40 cm tall.

We need to add the lutra or neo-tropical otter, a water carnivore, along with the Coypu Nutria (Myocastor coypus). The South American nutria, a large aquatic rodent, is also notorious.

Representing the felines we find the puma and the Andean or huiña cat, which is 45 cm long with a rather long hair and black spots, that lives in the misty forests of the region feeding on rodents and birds.

A true living fossil is the little monkey of the mountain, an almost invisible marsupial that dwells in the trunks of a couple of tree species.

The different layers of the forest, on the other hand, host Chilean pigeons and land species such as the elusive Scelorchilus rubecula or Chucao Tapaculo, along with the condor, which since recent years is usually seen even outside the cordillera. We find Patagonian woodpeckers pecking the trunks of the trees.

There are birds associated with this peculiar land environments, such as the kingfishers or copetonas, rheas or choiques, and a great variety of small species such as ducks, great bustard, caracaras, southern lapwings, southern mountain parrots, White-crested Elaenia (Elaenia albiceps), calandra larks, Patagonian white-throated earthcreepers (Upucerthia albigula), Rufous-tailed Hawk Buteo ventralis Busardo Patagón, and the Leptasthenura aegithaloides,Plain-mantled Tit-Spinetail and so on.

Amongst the birds of prey the most common are the small hawks, owls, eagles, black-headed vulture and condors.

The aboriginal ichthyologic fauna is conformed by the Common Jollytail, the zebra trout, the practically extinguished Patagonian atherine, the perch or crossbred trout, the velvet catfish and the minute catfish of the streams. The introduction of the salmon and of the exotic trout has proven inauspicious for these fishes, which have been almost exterminated.

Likewise, we will find abundant reptiles such as lizards of the Liolemus genus and reptiles such as the local matuastos which live on rocky terrains and shrubby zones. Amphibious such as the thorny toad and the four-eyed little toad can also be observed.

The yarará ñata or fer de lance is one of the few ophidians that live in the region, and the only venomous one. Its small size (it is no longer than 40 cm) is proportionate to its preys: mice and lizards.

The flying deer is one of the flashiest insects in the area. Other typical insects are the fitófagos, that is to say the wood eaters, and an acridio: the nahuelis.