The renowned Hollywood actor, Leonardo Dicaprio, surprised this Thursday when referring to a discovery made in Chile, where he congratulated the country on the discovery after 40 years of an endemic fungus and that until now was considered lost.
Dicaprio shared on his Instagram account the discovery of the “Great Puma”, a type of mushroom endemic to Chile, which had not been found in nature for more than 40 years.
But a group of scientists from the NGO Fungi Foundation managed to find this fungus in Nahuelbuta Park, and after a DNA analysis with mushrooms collected 40 years ago, it was confirmed that they were of the same species.
“The samples were subjected to DNA analysis, comparing the mushrooms collected in May 2023 with the DNA of the original mushroom that Garrido collected more than 40 years ago. After several months, it was shown that the DNA matches,” the NGO explained.
The news was shared with enthusiasm by Dicaprio, who in an Instagram post highlighted the work of the NGO and researchers, who have been working to search for “lost” mushrooms for at least 10 years.
“The Great Puma mushroom is a mysterious species that lives under the mountains of Nahuelbuta Park in Chile. The members of the expedition team even think that the fungus’s fungi could be visible above the ground for only a few days a year,” said the Gangs of New York actor.
In addition, the Oscar winner for best actor recommended watching a short film by the Chilean director, Catalina Infante, that shows the expedition that managed to find the Great Puma.
“Visit the link in the bio to see the short film by the Chilean filmmaker, Catalina Infante, who filmed this wonderful part of the expeditionas well as the moment when the team found the Great Puma with the local community,” concludes the protagonist of Wolf of Wall Street.
