In the last hours an important milestone was achieved in regard to the conservation of regional species after the first transfer of wild animals between two Latin American countries, which were Argentina and Chile. In this way, a total of 15 Choiques were transferred from the Patagonia Argentina Park, in the province of Santa Cruz, to the Patagonia Chile National Park, in the Aysén region, to reinforce a population that was on the verge of local extinction.
Choique is an emblematic species of the Patagonian steppe. Its presence is key to ecosystem regeneration for its great contribution to seed dispersion. But due to livestock overexploitation, dog persecution, hunting and destruction of nests, Choique populations have decreased dramatically in the Aysén region, Chile. And although the distance between the Patagonia Argentina and Patagonia Chile parks is only 90 km, the wired wires and fences are the main human barriers that limit the natural displacement of these birds that cannot fly.
Translocated Choiques come from a population in good condition of the Argentine Patagonia Park, where the species recovers thanks to the conservation efforts of the Argentine Rewilding Foundation with the support of the Freyja Foundation. “We select individuals from a population in good condition to ensure a minimum impact on the original group and thus contribute to restore the species in Chile,” explains Sebastián Di Martino, conservation director of the local foundation. Through the use of GPS and Telemetry technology, knowledge about their habits and spatial ecology is being expanded in Patagonia Park. For his part, Cristian Saucedo, Conservation Director of Rewilding Chile, highlighted the relevance of the action: “So far there were no protocols to recover species through collaboration between countries through its borders. This milestone shows that, by necessity, our institutional systems can evolve and respond more dynamically to the biodiversity crisis.”
