Gifted with pristine landscapes of rare beauty, the Argentine Patagonia is home of the most incredible and varied wildlife. The perfect link of steppe, semi-arid woodlands, forest, endless plains and an extensive maritime coast is the background of some unique shows that nature displays with its full splendor.

Bird and wildlife watching is a fascinating experience in Patagonia. Its National and Provincial Parks and reserves, the excellent conservation of its species and weather conditions turn the region into a paradise for hundreds of mammals and birds that can be seen in their natural habitat.

The wildlife exploration and observation experience may be enriched in the centers for nature interpretation and research. One of them is the Ecocenter, in the city of Puerto Madryn in Chubut. With the imposing blue of the ocean as a background, this research center offers educational and recreational activities to learn to understand and care for the Patagonian marine ecosystem and sea life.

  


Whales, a moving encounter
Between June and December, the arrival of the Southern Right Whale in the province of Chubut amazes all visitors with the grandeur of a natural and unique show.

Declared a “Natural Monument” to assure its protection, this magnificent mammal displays without modesty its huge tail that it slaps energetically against the waters of the Golfo Nuevo. An amazing exhibition that invites us to experience the Argentine Patagonia. Various excursions depart from Puerto Pirámides in Peninsula Valdés – a place declared Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO- to watch the charms of an exhibition beyond compare. El Doradillo, only 15 km from Puerto Madryn is considered one of the best places in the world to watch the whales. There, every year, they come back to deliver their young.

The charm and variety of the Patagonian marine life
Sea elephants and sea lions are also center stage in Patagonia, together with colonies of cormorants and sea lions. Reserves, natural areas and National Parks look after their protection. In Chubut, sea life is an endless show: acrobatic dolphins and Commerson's dolphins let visitors appreciate their art from vessels adapted to the purpose. Sea elephants and sea lions can be watched from the cliffs, imposing orcas from the coast of Punta Norte and as of September thousands of penguins come ashore at Punta Tombo and Cabo Dos Bahías where they stay until mid-March to lay their eggs and raise their young. This combination makes of this spot a unique place in the Argentine Patagonia.

The Monte León National Park, along the Atlantic coastline in the Province of Santa Cruz invites us to watch extraordinary specimens of Patagonian coastal sea fauna. Also in Santa Cruz, around 180,000 penguins concentrate in the Cabo Vírgenes Provincial Faunistic Reserve, place of reproduction of the Magellan penguin. Located in the province of Río Negro, the Punta Bermeja Natural Protected Area has been created for the conservation of a spot in the coast that is home to the first colony of Southern sea lions [ Otaria flavescens ] in Patagonia.

Deer in Patagonian nature
Coming close to deer is a unique opportunity that nature provides in the Argentine Patagonia. To do it during the mating season is an even more impressive experience. At dawn or when the sun goes down are the perfect times to watch the deer running under the immensity of the Patagonian sky. You can watch them in the province of Neuquén , particularly in the area of Pulmarí, about 40 kilometers from Aluminé. The mating season of the red deer is during March, in April is the turn of the fallow deer, and December of the West Chinese Tufted Deer, better known as “Father David's deer”. Another special place is the Natural Reserve Parque Luro in the province of La Pampa, only 35 kilometers from Santa Rosa. The only reserve in the world of the calden forest, which is the habitat of large populations of red deer that may be seen during the mating season.

The perfect habitat for birds
The Argentine Patagonia is a real aviary for birds. Four bio-geographic regions provide a highly favorable scenario for watching a great diversity of birds in the province of Neuquén: to the east, the Patagonian steppe and the semi-arid woodland; to the west the Magellan woods and the high Andean steppes.

Neuquén concentrates more than 250 bird species in excellent conservation conditions. Choiques [Small rheas] in the steppe, grebes, Chiloe ducks, lake ducks and cauquenes [gooses] live in lakes and lagoons, in woods populated with woodpeckers and hummingbirds. Condor in full flight, turkeys buzzard and black-chested buzzard-eagle, are some of the species you can watch during the outings guided by professional ornithologists in local lands. Also in the province of La Pampa, there are 250 bird species, among them, the gray falcons and yellow cardinal that you can watch in the Lihué Calel National Park and in the Parque Luro National Reserve. Further south, in Tierra del Fuego, the waters of the Beagle Channel, the Isla de los Estados [Island of the States] and their natural reserves are privileged places where you can watch from Bandurrias (type of ibis) and Austral flamingos to swallows and petrels.

The province of Río Negro is home of colonies with over 121 species of sea-,coastal- and land birds such as snowy sheathbills, shags, terns, black-chested buzzard-eagle, bustards, partridges, tinamous and rheas, among others. This is also the home of the largest colony of Patagonian conures in the world.

In the San Antonio Bay , migratory birds – dotterels and whimbrels – make a stop during their flight from Tierra del Fuego and the Northern Hemisphere. These beaches have been declared Site of Hemispheric Importance by the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network.

Ente Regional Oficial de Turismo Patagonia Turística - 2007 - info@patagoniaturistica.org.ar