In the Magellanic Island sector, there is a predominance of native tree species, such as the ñirre and the lenga, which are found on the high plains, and also Magellan’s beech tree (Notofagus betuloides). Among the Magellanic forests, one can equally spot the native canelo (Winter’s Bark) and the red willow, which are also present along the rivers Río Colorado, Río Negro, Río Calle-Calle and Río Chubut.
On the side of the southern Atlantic and certainly in the Magellanic Forest, one can find species of halophiles (salt-loving plants), in the shape of sparse, low-lying plants; and also the algarrobillo flowering tree (Prosopis affinis) and the piquillin shrub. On the plains, there are various plant species that grow no higher than 50 cm, which take the shape of cushions as a result of the ferocious winds prevailing in the south-east. In general, the transition of the Andes Mountain Range exhibits distinct forests: moist forests stretching down to the Pacific Ocean, and more arid vegetation towards the Atlantic Ocean.
As regards the fauna of the Patagonian region, there is an acknowledged presence of condor, puma, guanaco, huemul, fox, nandu and pudu –although this last species is only found in small numbers; and birds, such as the chucao that live exclusively in the Patagonian forests.
Chucao
Cóndor
The mountain cat, the nandu and the fox are present in the Southern Patagonian region and on the Argentine pampa. Along the coasts, there are penguins, two species of sea lions (the common Patagonian sea lion Otaria flavescens and the South American fur seal Arctocephalus australis), as well as various species of whales.
The most common of Patagonian fauna that exemplifies the regional wildlife is the guanaco (Lama guanicoe), and also the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus), the largest airborne bird in the world, which unifies the Andean cordillera by its presence throughout its length, all the way to the Patagonian Mountains in the south.
During his journey on the HMS Beagle to Patagonia between August 1832 where he reached the mouth of Río Negro until February 1835 when he sailed from Valdivia to Concepción after the big earthquake. Charles Darwin undertook an exhaustive study of both the condor and the guanaco and provided a very good description of the movements of the former in its mountain habitat with this quote:
Charles Darwin
“When the condors are wheeling in a flock round and round any spot, their flight is beautiful. Except when rising from the ground. I do not recollect ever having seen one of these birds flap its wings... they moved in large curves, sweeping in circles, descending and ascending without giving a single flap... The head and neck were moved frequently and apparently with force... If the bird wished to descend, the wings were for a moment collapsed; and when again expanded with an altered inclination, the momentum gained by the rapid descent seemed to urge the bird upwards with the even and steady movement of a paper kite....it is truly wonderful and beautiful to see so great a bird, hour after hour, without any apparent exertion, wheeling and gliding over mountain and river.”
Regarding the propagation and feeding habits of these birds, Darwin wrote:
“With respect to their propagation, I was told by the country people in Chile that the condor makes no sort of nest, but in the months of November and December lays two large white eggs on a shelf of bare rock... Certainly along the Patagonian coast, there cannot be any kind of nest among the cliffs where one can observe the youngest fledglings perched on their feet... The condors may oftentimes be seen at a great height, soaring over a certain spot in the most graceful circles. On some occasions I am sure that they do this only for pleasure, but on others, the Chileno countryman tells you that they are watching a dying animal, or the puma devouring its prey. If the condors glide down, and then suddenly all rise together, the Chileno knows that it is the puma which, watching the carcass, has sprung out to drive away the robbers. Besides feeding on carrion, the condors frequently attack young goats and lambs; and the shepherd dogs are trained, whenever they pass over, to run out, and looking upwards to bark violently.”
Darwin, C. The Voyage of the Beagle, Complete and
Unabridged, London, Mentor paperback, 1988.
In relation to the guanaco Darwin wrote:
“The guanaco, or wild llama, is the characteristic quadruped of the plains of Patagonia; it is the South American representative of the camel of the East. It is an elegant animal in a state of nature, with a long slender neck and fine legs. It is very common over the whole of the temperate parts of the continent, as far south as the islands near Cape Horn. It generally lives in small herds of from half a dozen to thirty in each; but on the banks of the St Cruz we saw one herd which must have contained at least five hundred.”
Guanacos from an illustration dating from the explorations by Darwin in 1834.
In relation to their exploitation by the native people Darwin added:
“These animals are very easily domesticated, and I have seen some thus kept in northern Patagonia near a house, though not under any restraint. They are in this state very bold, and readily attack a man by striking him from behind with both knees. It is asserted that the motive for these attacks is jealousy on account of their females. The wild guanacos, however, have no idea of defence; even a single dog will secure one of these large animals, till the huntsman can come up. In many of their habits they are like sheep in a flock. Thus when they see men approaching in several directions on horseback, they soon become bewildered, and know not which way to run. This greatly facilitates the Indian method of hunting, for they are thus easily driven to a central point, and are encompassed.”
Darwin, C. The Voyage of the Beagle, Complete and
Unabridged, London, Mentor paperback, 1988.
Manuscript page from Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution
ORIGINS OF HUMAN OCCUPATION IN PATAGONIA
Monte Verde. Studies have found this Chilean human settlement to be one of the oldest on the American Continent (*).
The evidence suggests that a human settlement could have existed in Patagonia as early as 14,000 BC.
Without a doubt, the most important archaeological discovery of the 20th Century in South America occurred