A pioneering conservation initiative has begun work to restore guanaco populations in the Metropolitan Region of Chile, close to the country’s densely populated capital Santiago.
The guanaco (Lama guanicoe), a close relative to the llama and the largest terrestrial mammal in Chile, once numbered in the tens of millions in South America. In pre-Columbian times, it’s thought there may have been 30 to 50 million across its range, from northern Peru to Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America.
Today, fewer than 600,000 are estimated to remain in South America, with nearly 90% in Argentina and around 66,000 in Chile (mainly in Magallanes), with small populations in Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay. That includes just 300-400 of the iconic camelids remaining in the wild in Chile’s Central Andes.
Although guanacos are still present, there are no fully functional populations in the mountains of the Metropolitan Region, near Santiago, which means they’re on the brink of local extinction.
16 guanacos from a private estate in the Valparaiso region have recently been relocated to three nature sanctuaries in the Metropolitan Region in order to form a reproductive ‘nucleus’. The Santiago Regional Government will provide funding for the expansion of guanaco-breeding centres and support their management for two years, which it’s expected will lead to the subsequent release of the animals into the wild.
Why are guanacos important?
"Guanacos are one of Andean Patagonia’s large native herbivores and a keystone species of its grasslands,” says Cristián Saucedo, Wildlife Director for Rewilding Chile.
“They’re the main prey of the puma and, together with the Andean condor, form a natural triad that represents a balanced and functional ecosystem. Their grazing helps maintain healthy grasslands by preventing overgrowth and erosion, dispersing seeds and enriching the soil.
When guanacos regain their numbers and ecological role, life flows back into the landscape: a puma’s hunt feeds foxes and other scavengers, while the condor completes this vital cycle – a visible sign that nature is working again as it should.”
The presence of guanacos will also help the restoration of endangered sclerophyllous forest, one of Chile’s most threatened ecosystems.
The guanaco initiative from Rewilding Chile and a coalition of partners (including the University of Chile and Metropolitan Region Sanctuaries Network) is part of a long-term rewilding vision for the Metropolitan Region of the Andes, with hopes of restoring mountain ecosystems, strengthening nature-based tourism and improving scientific data on wildlife populations and threats that they face.
For guanacos, access to natural sanctuaries is essential. The translocated animals’ new home sits within a continuous territory of half a million acres, which connect the Andean areas of San José de Maipo and Lo Barnechea with Argentina’s protected areas of Volcán Tupungato and Laguna del Diamante - an important binational biological corridor for this migratory species.
“This project is only a few hours from Santiago, around 65 kilometres, which makes it especially symbolic,” says Saucedo. “Rewilding is often associated with remote wilderness, but bringing wildlife back close to people is just as vital. In this case, these initiatives are just happening in the most populated region of Chile with 7.4 million people, reminding us that nature recovery isn’t something that only happens far away. It can and should happen wherever it’s been lost.”
“Working near urban areas is always more complex, but also represents an opportunity to increase impact and gain collaborators,” Saucedo adds. “There are fences, roads, dogs, and human activity that fragment habitats, so it requires deep collaboration with local communities, landowners, and authorities. But it’s also an opportunity to promote and rebuild the need of coexistence and to show that functional ecosystems, like the one symbolised by the guanaco, puma and condor, can exist even within landscapes shaped by people.”
Top image: guanaco translocation. Credit: Rewildling Chile
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