FAUNA IN FORMOSA

Here we find the fauna characteristic of the semiarid haitats in the Western part of El Chaco.

The mammals
Because there are fluvial and aquatic types of environments we will find species representative of these areas, along with those typical of more arid areas.

There are still some of the felines which have been almost extinguished by man, that have been able to survive in Formosa, such as the jaguar, the puma, the ocelot, the pampas cat and the feral cat, which used to be common dwellers of the forests and woods.

Armadillos such as the mulita, the tatú carreta or tatú-guazú, a menaced species, the mataco and the hairy can be seen in drier and more open places.
The coati, the stick rabbit, the tapir, the collared and lipped peccaries, the crying muscovy duck, the common armadillo, the hairy armadillo, the brown mountain goat, the racoon, the zorrilla, the grey fox, the vizcacha, the nesting weasel, the howler monkey or caraya and diverse rodents, are plentiful in the misty forests, where they all go running away from the desiccation as a result of the high noon temperature.

It is possible to find on the riverbanks traces of the largest herbivore in the region, the anta, tapir or great beast, side by side with those of the coipo or false otter, the aguará popé or South American racoon, of the racoon, the capybara, and even those of the caiman, amongst many others.

The maned wolf or aguará-guazú, a unique aboriginal fox, which has been unfairly persecuted for a long time turning it into one of Argentina's endangered fauna species now lives in the grasslands.

The termite hives or tacurúes on the savannahs with clusters of palm trees constitute the principal source of nourishment of another peculiar vertebrate: the large anteater, flag-bear, or yurumí, also a troubled species.

The Gallery Forests in Bermejo are a refuge for the rare night monkey or mirikiná, the only Argentinean primate of nocturnal habits. This small monkey of ringed tail and dense and silky fur is noted for its huge eyes, which resemble those of an owl.

Birds
Amongst the land birds we find the tinamou, though they are for the most part runners such as the rhea, which can still be seen in the region. On the other hand there is a great diversity of birds associated to the aquatic environments, amongst which can be listed the herons, the jabiru stork or big john, the largest of Argentina's storks, cormorants, swans, macaws, pink spoonbills, several duck species, toucans, southern lapwings, crows, caracaras, magpies, woodpeckers, green kingfishers, different pigeon species, so called picuies, pale-legged horneros, cattle egrets, earwigs, rock sp0arrows, owls and monjita birds. There are abundant common parakeets and talker and royal parrots in the areas bordering the rivers, specially the Paraná River.

The mountains are a great refuge for other species such as Spix´s guan, blacklegged and red-legged seriema and parrots like the talker and the Black-capped Conure . It is also feasible to watch here the rare moitú, a big bird of the family of the jugle guans who unhappily is hunted for its delicious meat.

All kinds of aquatic vertebrates densely populate the wetlands, reservoirs and lagoons. Many fish species are food for black and nesting caimans, as well as for many other animals.

Reptiles
In this region we can find different snake species, some dangerous ones due to their lethal poison, such as the false yarará or fer de lance, the yarará or cross' viper and the coral snake; the harmless vizcacha eating boa or ampalagua, which can grow up to three metres long, and a great variety of serpents. The curiyú boa is another large aquatic reptile which can grow up to four m long. Besides, the nesting and red iguanas and land turtles are also usual inhabitants of El Chaco.

Fishes
Some fishes have developed special qualities that allow them to live here. Such are the wolf fish, eels and armored catfish , Callichthys callichthys. The wolf fish for instance can breathe outside the water and can remain for rather long times in tiny ponds; likewise, they can move crawling in search of more humid places aided by their fins; others, though just a few ones, such as the lungfish, have the unbelievable capacity of interring themselves in the mud and cover their bodies with a protective substance that wraps them in a sort of cocoon which will enable them to wait for the rains in a deep lethargy.

Insects
Most of the insects are not hurtful save for the Triatoma infectans which are triatomine insects, that transmit the chagas disease, the tick that infects cattle with the sadness disease, the mosquitoes and the termites, whose tacurus or hives are more than 1 m high.