- Argentina - Portal público de noticias de la República Argentina.
One of the matchless charms visitors will find in Argentina is the possibility to observe native fauna in its natural habitats.
Argentine fauna includes hundreds of species of birds, gigantic cetaceans such as the Southern Right Whale and Orcas from Puerto Madrin, or the exotic Rockhopper penguin, a funny tumbling Lilliputian that, all along the American continent, can only be found in the small colony of the Isla Pinguino (Penguin Island) near Puerto Deseado (Santa Cruz.). But if travelers want to sight millions of Magellanic penguins devoted to looking after their chicks, there are several colonies along the Patagonian coast. The most prominent one is Punta Tombo, in the province of Chubut, reaching its climax in early November, when baby penguins are born and the colony population can increase up to one million penguins. When approaching Punta Tombo colony, visitors can hear the deafening “trumpeting” calls of these tiny tailcoat dressed dwarves penguins, spawned from some 600 thousand “craters” in the earth. In each crater there are a couple of penguins, and a close look may unfold the singularities of the marital life of these birds that cannot fly but can dive up to 80 meters and build up monogamous bonds for life.
The Esteros del Iberá (Iberá Estuaries) located in the northern center of the country –in the province of Corrientes-, are the other touristic area visited for fauna watching, framed within the second largest wetland of the continent, behind the Brazilian marshland. This large 13.000 square kilometer ecosystem— encompassing a framework of rivers, creeks, lagoons, and almost uncharted estuaries--, hosts 44 mammal species, 345 varieties of birds, 40 of amphibious species, 59 reptile species and at least 130 fish species. Thus, Esteros del Iberá (Iberá Estuaries) are considered to have the largest biodiversity in the continent. Visitors are usually most astounded by the presence of the Yacaré, a type of caiman that can be two meters long. Some can be spotted submerged as ambushed killers, and are found a meter away from the boat with their eyes just resurfacing. Yet, hundreds of them can easily be seen sunbathing along the shores.
