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Trip ReportTrip ReportFROM THE GRAN CHACO TO PATAGONIAFROM THE GRAN CHACO TO PATAGONIA

AMAZING ARGENTINAAMAZING ARGENTINA

Herpetologist Cesar Barrio Amorós travels across a wonderful variety of habitats and environments while searching for South America’s fascinating wildlife

Herpetologist Cesar Barrio Amorós travels across a wonderful variety of habitats and environments while searching for South America’s fascinating wildlife

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Hillary sideneck turtle Phrynops hilariiArgentina is home of several interesting turtles. One of the most common in the field and also introduced in many parks and gardens is Hillary sideneck turtlePhrynops hilarii, a large Chelidae with a nice smile.

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TEXT AND PHOTOS BY CESAR BARRIO AMORÓS

Mara Mara maraMaras look very peculiar, like no other rodent. They somewhat seem to beconvergent with gazelles, as they have long legs and run to escape.

rgentina…a beautiful name fora beautiful Country! It means that it shineslike silver, and it does...From its tropicalnorth to its Antarctic south, the landscape ofArgentina is one of the most diverse inSouth America. With 2.780.400 squarekms, it is the second largest Country in thecontinent, after Brazil, and travel across itcan take a long time by road (good busesactually), or quite a lot of money if you fly. Istayed one month and had the time to hitthe roads. I came from Chile, entering theCountry in Salta (in the NW part), amarvelous province with many differentbioregions. I arrived in early spring and theChaco region was completely dry. I did notsee a single lizard! But the Chaco is one ofthe most interesting areas in South America,home of many awesome reptiles andamphibians, such as the colorful and quitetoxic Leptodactylus laticeps, the Chacomonkey frog Phyllomedusa sauvagii and itslittle relative P. azurea. In a short visit to oneof the most famous herpetological centers inSouth America, the Fundación Miguel Lilloin Tucuman, I met Esteban Lavilla, GustavoScrochi and Ricardo Montero, some of themost productive herpetologists inArgentina. With Scrochi we saw two veryinteresting species - Phylodryas baroni, agreen and semi-arboreal snake with apointy nose, and the southern subspecies ofthe Boa constrictor, B.c. occidentalis. Therealso was possible to watch severalPhrynops hillari and some interesting

aquatic birds, such as a grebe I had neverseen before (Podilimbus podiceps). Afterthat, I decided to move to the NE to see theamazing and famous Iguazu falls. I arrivedafter 24 hours in bus from Tucuman to thesmall town of Puerto Iguazú. From there youcan take a taxi or a bus to the ParqueNacional Iguazú, which covers an area of67.620 ha. There are many very wellmarked paths and a little train that takestourists to the different viewpoints of thewaterfalls. Though the Iguazú falls areindeed one of the most magnificent falls inthe world - and I really enjoyed the views,forest and fauna - I was quite disappointedby the thousands of tourists that were at thesame point with me. It was completelyimpossible to be alone and enjoy themagnificence of the scenario. Always therewere family groups, school groups,couples, or even huge lines of Japanesetourists taking thousands of pictures withcameras far better than mine. One of thequestions I was asking myself all the timewas if I could take a better and differentpicture from the thousands around me. ButI saw that no one was taking care of thefauna. Especially I was very impressed bythe local and endemic great dusky swiftsCypseloides senex, which were flying soclose to the waterfalls, and sometimes,diving into the water curtains, where theirnests were sited. I discovered a spot, asmall creek with a hanging bridge, where Icould stay for a long time spying the swifts,

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Southern Elephant seal Mirounga leoninaFemales and calves of elephant seals are mostly resting all day long on stony beaches. They can be wary or just curious.In any case a great experience to be close by!

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Baron’s Green racer Philodryas baroniPossibly the most bizarre snake of Argentina, the beautiful and fast Philodryas baroni is a rear-fanged, semi-arboreal and diurnal predator.Its relatively weak venom is not considered dangerous to humans.

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Tegu Salvator (Tupinambis) merianaeThe South American Tegu is fearless and will readily bite an unprotected hand.

with almost no people disturbing me. Ispend many hours photographing the swiftsin the nest, taking care of the chicks, restingwhile hanging in the walls, some sleeping,some vigilant, and capable to turn theirnecks as much as 180 degrees, like an owl,to see over their backs. Incredibly fast birds.At the human-modified paths and gardensaround the falls, one could imagine beingat any of the entertainment parks in theUSA, with so many small shops selling allkind of fast food. There the coatimundiswere kings. So abundant that they wereasking for food to any tourist with cookiesor empanadas. Even being forbidden togive food to animals, all tourists wereenchanted by the cute faces and kindanimals. That could end with some nastybites, as these carnivores have large teeth.Another animal I was eager to find was themonitor-like South American Tegu, Salvatormerianae. A large lizard, with powerfuljaws and no fear to humans. They alsowere attracted to the fast food shops andwaited around for their bit. I pursued oneof them to take some pictures, and when itwas bothered by me, it charged towardsthe camera, almost crashing the cover. Ihad later another encounter with a wildSalvator merianae in Buenos Aires, in ariver park, the Reserva EcológicaCostanera Sur, where with my friendFernando Licitra we caught two specimensresting under a log, and photographed oneafter tiring it a little. In Buenos Aires, I spent some time visitingmuseums and giving a couple of lectures inthe Museo Argentino de Ciencias

Naturales Bernardino Rivadavia, and atthe Palermo Zoo. With Fernando andEmiliano Lértora, we went to the city of laPlata for a frog night lead by the beautifuland gentle herpetologist GabrielaAgostini. That night was quite awesome,as we could find several interestingspecies, as Hypsiboas pulchella,Dendropsophus sanborni, Pseudis minuta,Scinax squalirostris and S. granulosus. Atdusk and night, I never experienced somany mosquitoes in my life, and that placestands out along with Palo Verde in CostaRica and the Casiquiare River inVenezuela, as the most uncomfortableplaces to walk around at dusk and night! From Buenos Aires, and after a short visitto Pepe Langone and other herpetologistsat the Museo de Ciencias Naturales deMontevideo in Uruguay, where I presentedtwo lectures, I continued my tripsouthwards to the famous Peninsula Valdesin Patagonia.

PATAGONIASince I was little I have been amazed bynature in all its wonders. After exploringentomology and ichtiology, I decided todevote my main interest to herpetology.However, this does not mean that I am farfrom other kind of animals, and as aphotographer, I like to capture allexpressions of beauty and reality in theanimal kingdom. One of the mostrenowned places on Earth to watch a highvariety of animals, in large concentrations,and see them in action, is the famousPeninsula Valdés, in the Patagonia region

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Santa Fe frog Leptodactylus laticepsThis species - the most prominent and beautiful of this South American genus of land frogs - is also the most toxic, as its coloration announces. After touching it for a while, its mucus affects the skin (especially if one has open wounds) and provokes heavi sneezing. Do not touch!

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Southern Right Whale Eubalena australisCalves of Southern Right Whales like to play, sometimes jumpingor just splashing their tails against the water surface.

of Argentina. It is known especially for thefamous Killer whales attacking sea lions atthe shore, and of course this was my firstinterest. But I also knew that was a greatlocation to see many South American largemammals like guanacos, maras, sea lions,elephant seals, and different kind ofwhales; and birds, like penguins and rheas,as well as some mostly unknown reptiles. I arrived to Puerto Madryn, where I hadthree contacts that proved to make thedifference in my trip. The first was my nowfriend Diego Barraso, herpetologist, whogave me shelter and introduced me to manyinvestigators at the CENPAT (CentroNacional Patagónico). There also I meetDario Podestá, renowned photographer,and he took me out for a little ride. That ridewas amazing, as we were deep inside wildPatagonia. This region is quite boringscenically, all plain, covered by smallshrubs and bushes, the tallest being nomore than three meters high. But it was sofull of life. Many maras, those strange andgraceful rodents with long legs andconvergent with some small gazellas orantelopes in other continents, crossed theroad, as well as European hares Lepuseuropaeus and some terrestrial birdsEudromia elegans. The tallest bush had anest of a Red-backed Hawk Buteopolyosoma, and we stopped nearby towatch the couple closely. And indeed theyarrived to check out who were those skinnycritters. They never were aggressive, butquite inquisitive, coming and going, andnever abandoning their nest, where at leastwe saw one chicken. We took advantage

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of their proximity and several great pictureswere taken. But the real paradise was waiting for ourarrival. On a windy cliff, we leaned out andsaw a magnificent panorama. Clear watersin low tide, and many elephant sealsMirounga leonina on the beach, some justlying, others on the shore, others swimming(mostly the calves). Just to be there,watching from a long distance(approached by our tele zooms) was adelight… Many cormorants and giantpetrels Macronectes giganteus flew aroundus, as we observed the incredible scenario.We found a difficult, steep and very riskyway down, we tried going very carefully,and finally we reached the beach,surrounded by those huge elephant seals. Iexpected to see the adult males, thosemonsters I was so terrified as a child whenwatching Cousteau’s and Attenborough’sdocumentaries. But we saw only two youngmales, four meters long though. We did notwant to disturb them… and walked thestony beach very carefully, slowly and insilence. Many female and young elephantseals were motionless… sleeping andignoring us. Some others though, especiallyyoung females on the beach, were quitescared and aggressive at the same time,escaping us crawling to the sea. At the end,with patience, we could approach withoutscaring them, and take phenomenal photosfrom very close. At another interesting cliff,much closer to Puerto Madryn, a colony ofsea lions Arctocephalus australis could alsobe observed from a mirador. Contrary toelephant seals (and seals in general of the

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Sunset at the plain wilderness of the Patagonia.

Darwin Rhea Rhea pennataOne of the large animals of the plains, and one of the heaviest birds in the world, theDarwin Rhea. It used to be hunted with boleadoras, but currently the species is protected.

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Guanaco Lama guanicoeFamilies or groups of Guanacos are often seen among the bushes. This peculiar camelids constitute the main prey item for pumas.

family Phocidae), which have their hindlimbs directed posteriorly, helping the tail inwater propulsion, sea lions of the familyOtariidae have their hind limbs directedanteriorly and thus functional for walking oreven climbing. Males are very aggressiveand massive. They have harems anddefend them continuously from otheryounger males that try to mate with thefemales. The interior of Peninsula Valdés was acomplete wilderness. A windy andinhospitable land where a few familiessettled in the last century to breed sheep.Now, however, it is one of the mostattractive destinations for wildlife tourists. Ina few hours it is possible to see so manyinteresting animals that it is onlycomparable in South America with thePantanal in Brazil and the VenezuelanLlanos. I was invited by my friends RicardoFabian Acquaroli and Leticia Benítez, whorun a tour operator in Puerto Madryn. I wasfirst on a whale watching tour starting inPuerto Piramides. I am used to go in thiskind of tours as I myself used to be a whaleguide in Costa Rica. But there, in the bestday, you can maybe see 5 whales and theircalves, and with a lot of luck, a male jumpout of the water. In Valdés, close to the endof the whale season, which goes from Juneto November, we saw not less than 20whales around the boat, mostly femaleswith calves, and some showing their tails,splashing around us, and spying us, justemerging with their eyes to see us better. Itis such a great sensation to look into awhale eye directly, so placid, so peaceful.

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D'Orbigny's Banded Anole Pristidactylus fasciatusPatagonia is also home for some intriguing reptiles. This is a malePristidactylus fasciatus, which preys on other lizards and large insects.

Tegu Salvator (Tupinambis) merianaeTegus are common at the Iguazú Falls, especially around food stalls.

circumstance. I saw orcas, a familyfollowing a sea channel in front of my sight,very close to an elephant seal colony. Butno attacks, only greetings!Other animals I saw quite easily from thesafari tour were the omnipresent guanacosLama guanicoe, proud animals, with theirhigh neck watching the surroundings.Many were with calves. Also the secondlargest bird in South America, the Darwinrhea Pterocnemia pennata, ready toescape together with its own chicks.Maras, those strange looking long leggedrodents, were in breeding season, andfemales were full of milk waiting to feedtheir offspring. Few reptiles are known in the area, amongthem several Liolaemus, and one of thesnakes I was more interested in finding, theonly and southernmost viper in theAmericas, Bothrops amnodytoides. Duringa short walk surrounding an elephant sealcolony, I saw two - one juvenile coiled onthe main path for tourists, which Iphotographed and removed, and anotherunder a bridge.A last encounter that day was also one ofthe most looked for. I always lovedpenguins, but I am too lazy to go deep intothe cold. So the opportunity to see a colonyof Magellan penguins Spheniscusmagellanicuswhere they were swimming inthe sea, walking around, and some femaleswere guarding their newly born chicks,from a few meters away, was a reallysatisfying end to my trip. .

They are really gentle giants, with nointention to harm us in any way. It isuncomprehensible how humans almostdrove such beautiful creatures toextinction. Something that was very intriguing andalso painful to watch was how sea gulls inthat area learned to attack quickly thewhale dorsum to make a hole to extract thefat. This is an increasing problem as everyyear there are many more sea gulls (due tothe growing of Puerto Madryn and itshuge garbage storage), and they learnfrom others how to take this tasteful andenergy-rich piece of fat.Of course the main goal that day was tosee how the orcas attack sea lions at theshore of the beach. But my aims werediminishing at each minute. I talked aboutthat with several friends, includingphotographers, investigators, and thefamous Roberto Bubas, who is the personthat knows best the orcas. They frequentthose waters year long, but there are manyfamilies - some are residents, and othersvisitors. Only one family consisting ofseven orcas learned how to attackpinnipeds out of the water. But such actionis not often seen… To have the opportunityto watch that, one should camp or stay atsome of the Estancias in the area (whichare prohibitively expensive) and devotemany days awaiting the action. I just hadone day, and that was at the end of my tripof one month in Argentina. I hated myselffor not having foreseen such a

Argentine horned frog Ceratophrys ornataThe large and colorful Argentine horned frog Ceratophrys ornata starts to be active around November, at the beginning of the austral spring.At night, surrounded by millions of mosquitoes at the Pampa, one can also see species like Hypsiboas pulchellus, Pseudis minuta and more.

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Chacoan waxy leaf frog Phyllomedusa sauvagiiOne of the most interesting species in its genus. It estivates during the dry seasonproducing a wax with which it covers its body completely, preventing dessication.

Magellan penguin Spheniscus magellanicusThere are many breeding colonies of Magellan penguins in

Patagonia - some small, some of more than a million individuals.

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Elephant seal Mirounga leoninaFemales and calves of elephant seals are mostly resting all day long on stony beaches. They can be wary or just curious. Some calves will allow you to approach slowly,almost to the point of touching them (even if I do not recommend that). This calf is changing winter skin for a summer thinner one.

Baron’s Green Racer Philodryas baroniA green, very active and quite large serpent which is semiarboreal and which feeds on birds and rodents.

Lesser Swimming frog Pseudis minutusA small aquatic frog, which can be seen at night waiting

for small insects resting on floating vegetation.

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Pied-billed grebe Podilymbus podicepsOne of the smaller grebes, quite common in the NW part of the country.

Coatimundi Nasua nasuaCoatimundis - common and friendly at Iguazú falls - can however bite severely.

Southern Orange-legged leaf frog Phyllomedusa azureaAnother species in the intriguing group of monkey, leaf or poster frogs.Smaller than the waxy frog, it can be found in high grass around pools.

Patagonian lancehead Bothrops ammodytoidesThe only venomous snake in the area is the pit viper Bothrops ammodytoides.This specimen is going to shed its old skin soon - notice the clouded bluish eye.

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Montevideo tree frog Hypsiboas pulchellusA juvenile and unlucky Hypsiboas pulchellus is being preyed upon by a large fishing spider at a small pond’s edge.

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Iguazú falls, some of the largest of the world. Several miradores are strategically located to offer the best views, but it is, however, difficult to enjoy the spectacle in solitude.

Notes about photographyIn the past I used Sony Alpha 200, 350 and 550, each with several lenses. I was carrying a heavy backpack up to 12 kg at least for many years. In two occasions my equipment was stolen, once in Venezuela, anotherin Costa Rica, losing more than 10.000 US $ in gear. I decided then to buy a simple compact camera. My choice was the super zoom Sony HX100 and I never missed any of heavy stuff. First, I could travel light! Andthis is an important plus when you have a lumbar hernia. Further, I need no more to change lenses - the Carl Zeiss 24-800 mm (x30 optical) was enough to take 95% of the photographs I needed.

Travelling around ArgentinaRoute Argentina is one of the safest countries in South America. Of course some extra caution is needed to travel with an expensive photographic equipment. The buses are comfortable if you chose bus cama, which isthe equivalent of a plane First class. You can also take domestic planes from Buenos Aires to the main cities and areas of the country. Weather Argentina lies in a temperate zone, with the four season we know in the northern hemisphere (but inverse: when is summer in the North, is winter in the South!!). (all the northernmost part of Argentina, fromSalta in the West to Misiones on the East, is tropical, and then, it is never cold, but can be extremely hot and dry in summer. In the South, it is cold always, even in summer. Accomodation The Iguazú area is well covered by hotels of all kinds, from backpacker to the highest level. There are a few paths where you can really explore the forest and see wild creatures, including (aside coatimun-dis) monkeys, tapirs, snakes, deers, or even jaguars! Also I did not expect to find the largest ant in the world, Dinoponera gigantea. Most of the trails are cemented or are hanging bridges over the falls. Bring comforta-ble shoes (not necessary heavy boots), and a raincoat or something to protect the camera from the water! Peninsula Valdés is prepared for tourism, and also offers a great variety of hotels. There many tour operators willoffer you the typical safaris in a van, which is the most comfortable and quick option to have an overlook of the area. I personally recommend Ricardo and Leticia at Forastero Tours (www.forasterotour.com.ar). Currency Currency is the Argentinean Peso, which is quite devaluated, and compared with the US dollar, comes cheaper and cheaper. Food One of the most renowned items related to Argentina is the food, especially related to meat. Beef and sheep are prepared everywhere in the country in different manners, but all tasteful, and comparatively cheap.Pastas and Pizza are also great, due to the deep Italian inheritance. Language Argentinean Spanish is so different from all other Spanish dialects that could be taken for a language for its own. Unfortunately, out of the touristic areas, not much English is spoken. Health. No much worries. In the tropical area in wet season can be some tropical deseases like dengue fever. Tap water is good in general to drink.