by Matt Hendrickson, of University of Wisconsin
An Andean Condor soars over Lago O’Higgins. photo by Shalynn Pack
Ineffable: a word to describe the indescribable. Looking down at the Catharitiforme bird that soars above everything else sure emits this feeling. Standing on the rocky summit of a mountain in El Mosco Reserve under the cloudless sky and steamy rays of the sun, we gazed down and admired its broad 3 m wide wingspan, tipped with long finger-like feathers, and its distinctive fluffy white neck collar, recognizing it as an Andean Condor. Surrounding snow capped mountains, various glistening lakes far below, and the whistle in our ears from the unblocked wind painted the immaculate backdrop of this royal bird’s domain. Attempting to describe this experience only scratches the surface of the incredible sights and experiences that our team had in El Mosco Reserve, the protected area that lies East just outside of Villa O’Higgins.
Departing from our base camp in Cochrane on October 14 we drove south along the Carretera Austral, experiencing scattered rain and snow before arriving at our first campsite of the trip, a campo owned by a family, sitting next to a large, wet Sphagnum bog. Sphagnum is a peat moss, which dramatically acidifies the surrounding water of the land, creating inhospitable environments to decomposing plants and fungi. With the lack of decomposing bacteria, dead Sphagnum accumulates in large quantities for thousands of years to create peat lands: a thriving and self-sustaining ecosystem. Peat, able to hold up to 20 times its dry weight with water, exists as an energy dense material, highly valued for its economic attractiveness as a fuel. Over-harvesting presents a large environmental concern, especially since restoration of harvested areas requires extended periods of time. Enduring the rain and gloomy weather, we slapped on our water-proof gear and trudged through scattered pools of slimy puddles and ankle-high mud, sinking with every step. Reaching an area that had several small square plots of harvested Sphagnum, we then measured growth rates, hoping to gain an understanding of the impacts. Upon our return from the bogs to the campo, we shared mate and conversation with our generous hosts in their home before residing in their neighboring, fire-stocked quincho for the night.
Sphagnum bogs are often considered “unproductive” lands, but they are a special habitat for unique species. Photo by Adam Spencer
Awaking the following day, we continued even further south along the Carretera Austral, taking an intermediate ferry ride over a river that divides the highway, to the town of Villa O’Higgins. Nestled in the comfort of El Mosco hostel, we spent our next two nights preparing gear and gathering food for our upcoming backpacking field excursion into El Mosco Reserve: a mixed Temperate Magellanic Rain forest, tucked in a mountainous glacial river valley.
Our mission in El Mosco Reserve included surveying the area for flora and fauna, focusing our attention on signs of the endangered Huemul, and reporting our findings to the park so that they could provide sustainable management of the reserve with the impending tourism increase in the future. This new Reserve hopes to build a trail system and provide sustainable tourism opportunities for the town – however, they want to make sure they don’t build trails through the huemul’s home. These animals are notoriously skittish and may move out of the Reserve if disturbed. So, that’s where Round River can help – identifying where the huemul live and travel throughout the Reserve.
Acting as Chile’s national animal and holding a place next to the Andean Condor on the Chilean Coat of Arms, Huemul once inhabited the area ranging from the Santiago Andes south to the Strait of Magellan. Beginning in the 1970s, they had mostly disappeared from anywhere outside of Patagonia due to hunting, habitat loss, and competition with introduced animals. By the turn of the millennium, fewer than 2000 Huemul exist in protected areas of both Argentina and Chile.
Team Ñandú and Guardaparque Nicolas hike through the snow to set a camera trap for huemul. Photo by Adam Spencer
Over the course of the next five days, guided by our instructors and two park rangers, we transected over 20 kilometers of wet forest, scrub land, rocky river valleys, and steep mountain sides, bushwhacking through dense prickly shrubs and pushing through waist deep snow in high altitudes, searching for Huemul signs. We found tracks and scat, especially in open ridge lines, signaling their existence in El Mosco Reserve, and we identified a few key habitats where huemul live. The hiking was beautiful – we reached overlooks into glacial valleys and steep canyons, and thanks to a recent snow, hiked for hours in a wintry wonderland.
Camille looks out over the El Mosco Municipal Reserve. Photo by Shalynn Pack
A secondary goal of the trip was to check on our camera traps in the Reserve, which Round River set up in March 2018, and to place new ones. Camera traps can offer invaluable information as to where animals frequent and migrate. Here, Round River has placed them in habitats with dense huemul sign, and has had great success, documenting huemul behavior during the winter.
A male huemul grazes above the El Mosco River valley over the winter, in a camera trap photo set up by the previous team’s research.
After our duration in the field, we spent the next 4 days back in El Mosco Reserve, spending our time entering data, driving to more Sphagnum bogs, and exploring Villa O’Higgins. On our last night before we returned to Cochrane, the two park rangers that accompanied us in El Mosco invited us to an Asado: a cookout, roasting ribs over an open fire, similar to a barbecue. Early in the morning on the 25th October, we left Villa O’Higgins, half going to Tortel for a high school science fair and the other stopping back at the campo visited previously, before arriving back to Cochrane.
Team Ñandú looks out over the Mayer River, from the peaks of the El Mosco Municipal Reserve. Photo by Shalynn Pack