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Patagonia Park: a Decade of Huemul Conservation

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Patagonia Park: a Decade of Huemul Conservation PATAGONIA PARK: A DECADE OF HUEMUL CONSERVATION TOMPKINS CONSERVATION WILDLIFE BULLETIN SEPTEMBER 2016 EDITORIAL CONTENT Patagonia National Park, PAGE 01 Editorial: Patagonia National Park, an idea is born an idea is born PAGE 05 In 2004, Conservacion Pata- conservation lands with two na- Data Sheet: Souther Huemul gonica, a non-profit founded by tional reserves, Jeinimeni Lake (South Andean Deer) Kristine Tompkins that is now National Reserve and Lake Co- PAGE 08 under the umbrella of Tomp- chrane (or Tamango) National kins Conservation, emerged on Reserve into a single protected The beginnings of the Huemul Project in the future Patagonia National Park the Chilean conservation scene. area—the future Patagonia Na- Conservacion Patagonica’s first tional Park. PAGE 12 undertaking was a landmark The future Patagonia Park Huemul habitat and density proposal to establish Patago- region—popularly known as in the Chacabuco Valley nia National Park, through the Chacabuco Valley and Entra- PAGE 14 purchase and eventual dona- da Baker—is located in an eco- Population status of the huemul and tion of the Estancia Valle Cha- logically significant area of Pa- limiting factors in the Chacabuco Valley cabuco (68,000 hectares), one of tagonia, in the transition zone PAGE 18 the largest cattle ranches in the between Andean forest and the Puma and huemul interactions Aysén Region of southern Chile. Patagonian Steppe. For nearly The park would be created by thirty years, the Chilean gov- PAGE 20 joining the privately assembled ernment has recognized this Interactions between dogs and huemuls TOMPKINS CONSERVATION WILDLIFE BULLETIN SEPTEMBER 2016 PAGE 22 Domestic cattle and livestock as threats and limiting factors for the huemul PAGE 24 Mineral salts and the huemul PAGE 25 The red deer and the huemul PAGE 26 Numerical changes in the huemul population in the future Patagonia National Park PAGE 29 Ranger monitoring and threat control: The case of huemul in the Chacabuco Valley PAGE 30 Cochrane: The huemul refuge PAGE 31 The people behind the monitoring Landscape in the future Patagonia National Park. and protection of the huemul: • Daniel Velásquez • Delmiro Jara area as a priority site for biodi- ecotourism infrastructure. The PAGE 33 versity conservation. This des- park will become a major tour- Acknowledgements ignation has been ratified by ist destination in the Aysén re- various committees of experts gion, and will in turn boost the and scientists along with the local economy and contribute to Chilean Ministry of Environ- the sustainable development of ment as well as those responsi- the region and surrounding lo- ble for protected areas (CONAF, cal communities. the National Forestry Corpora- Among the conservation tion) and the protection of nat- objectives in the future park, a ural resources (Environmen- key focus has been the recov- tal, Agriculture and Livestock ery of the southern Patagonian Services). huemul deer (Hippocamelus bi- With the creation of Pata- sulcus), a native and endangered gonia National Park, Tompkins species with a world population Conservation’s goal of conserv- today estimated at less than ing these significant ecosys- 1,500 individuals. The low pop- tems and species in perpetuity ulation of the huemul, an iconic will be greatly advanced. Equal- species that appears on Chile’s ly significant is the impact the national shield, is emblematic park will have on the local econ- of the global loss of biodiversity omy through the creation of due to habitat loss and the status high-quality, publicly accessible of crisis faced by natural spaces. PAGE 2 TOMPKINS CONSERVATION WILDLIFE BULLETIN SEPTEMBER 2016 Fortunately, the area around Lake Cochrane, including the northern sector of the park, is home to approximately 10 percent of the estimated world population of the species today, thus present- ing a crucial site for long-term huemul protection and recovery. Twenty years before the Cha- cabuco Valley was privately ac- quired for conservation, the Co- chrane (Tamango) Lake National Reserve was about to be degazetted as a protected area. Fortunately, in the early 1980s, the first huemuls were observed in the area, which changed the fate of the reserve, as well as the relationship between the community in the town of Co- chrane and these iconic Andean deer. In the mid-1990s, CONAF be- gan implementing habitat protec- tions for the huemul of the north shore of Lake Cochrane and sur- rounding areas. Tamango, at that time was already a globally recog- nized site for the huemul popula- tion. Even so, these areas were still Male huemul in the Lenga forest in the Chacabuco Valley. used by the neighboring ranches of the Chacabuco Valley, where more huemul’s habitat were in perfect ernmental organizations (NGOs), than 30,000 sheep and 3,000 cattle harmony with scientific recom- and civil society in general, includ- were being raised. mendations indicating that the ing researchers and conservation- The possibility of realizing priority sites for huemul conserva- ists. Moreover, we are proud of the CONAF’s vision of securing land tion should include suitable habi- innovations we have pioneered in and habitat conservation for the tat along slopes, near or between huemul conservation. huemul in the Lake Cochrane re- populations of the species, with In these ten years of commit- gion materialized in 2004, through the goal of ensuring the expansion ted work by the Patagonia Park the acquisition of Estancia Valle and dispersal of the population. Wildlife Team—including rang- Chacabuco by Conservacion Pata- Although there is still a ways ers, veterinarians, technicians, gonica. From that moment, Con- to go, over the years we have seen volunteers, and other partners— servacion Patagonica comple- a significant increase in interest in Conservacion Patagonica has de- mented CONAF’s efforts in the huemul protection. We are pleased veloped various methods for mon- area, providing an increase in hab- that Conservacion Patagonica has itoring and preserving huemuls itat and care for the area’s huemul enhanced the work undertaken by in the area. This has been made population. Efforts to increase the state institutions, other nongov- possible thanks to significant -fi PAGE 3 TOMPKINS CONSERVATION WILDLIFE BULLETIN SEPTEMBER 2016 nancial support from donors and ward: to achieve widespread coop- ing of the relationship between Pa- institutions who recognize the eration and societal will to protect tagonian huemuls and their pred- precarious status of the huemul this endangered deer. Fortunate- ators. We have been surprised by population in the face of natural ly, awareness and action have in- the discovery of livestock diseas- and human threats. creased considerably, and every es in the huemul and the impact of We see this as the ideal time day people join us in this crusade. red deer passing through the prin- to share the achievements and les- It has been ten years since a cipal huemul habitat. These are sons of the work that our team has few timid huemuls were spotted in some of the topics we will cover in done, and is to doing to address areas hitherto intensively occupied this first bulletin in a series on Pa- these threats. Furthermore, we by domestic livestock. We do not tagonia Park’s wildlife. wish to use this moment to invite know of any similar experiences in We hope you find this publi- all interested parties to join us in other parts of Patagonia, where an cation of interest and will look for- this vital effort to prevent the hue- extensive livestock operation has ward to future issues that explore mul’s slide toward extinction. left space for natural restoration the protection and rewilding of Pa- The leadership of Douglas and and the promotion of huemul re- tagonia Park. ◊ Kristine Tompkins, founders of covery. We have achieved a sus- the Patagonia Park project, who tained upward trend in deer pop- Cristián Saucedo Gálvez saw the urgent need to protect the ulation and habitat, in an area that, Director of Conservation, huemul and its remaining habitat, only a few years ago, was occupied Patagonia Park, Conservacion Patagonica, Chile has been key to our progress. The by a large ranch. Along the way, we goal is ambitious but straightfor- have gained a better understand- Male huemul deer in a winter landscape at the Patagonia Park. PAGE 4 TOMPKINS CONSERVATION WILDLIFE BULLETIN SEPTEMBER 2016 DATA SHEET Souther Huemul (South Andean Deer) Considering the marked re- muls were found from Ran- duction in the huemul’s dis- cagua (34º S) to the Strait of tribution and population num- Magellan (53° S). Today they bers, with estimates of less than are extinct in several regions Scientific Name: 1,500 individuals in the world, of their former range and their Hippocamelus bisulcus the species is classified by the populations are fragmented. IUCN as “Endangered.” To pro- There is a small core group in Size: Up to 1 meter (3,2 ft.) high at vide greater guarantees of pro- the Nevadas de Chillán area (36° the withers; weight can reach 90 ki- tection, both Chile and Argenti- S), which is very isolated. The lograms (198 lbs.). na have declared the Huemul as species reappears in the south- a “Natural Monument.” ern part of Palena, with the re- Habitat: Lenga (beech) forests and Chile is home to three spe- gions of Aysén and Magallanes ñirre scrubland. Also found in high cies of native deer: pudú, taru- being the main refuges for the steppe areas. ca, and huemul. The latter has a species. robust appearance, and it can be In Argentina the huemul Geographical distribution: The hue- observed alone or in small fam- was formerly distributed from mul is an animal exclusive to South- ily groups. Males are character- southern Mendoza (33º S) to the ern Chile and Argentina and Patago- ized by having a black spot in province of Santa Cruz (49º S).
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