Wildlife of Chile

The wildlife of Chile is very diverse because of the country's slender and elongated shape, which spans a wide range of latitude, and altitude, ranging from the windswept coastline of the Pacific coast on the west to northern Andes to the sub-Antarctic, high Andes mountains in the east. There are many distinct ecosystems.

From the wildlife angle, Chile in Southern South America stretches in a north–south direction, called the spine of South America, has terrestrial borders with

Laws regulating exploitation of wildlife are in force since 1888 which have been improved upon since the 1990s, with regulations of 1993 being the most recent and stringent. This has resulted in almost total check over hunting and commercialization of

While the laws have provided protection to reptiles and amphibians, animals with fur cover and game species of both birds and mammals are exploited to a reasonable level. However, cross border illegal traffic still persists and Chile acts as a conduit for illegal trafficking in animals from other South American countries and the law enforcement in this regard is lax.[4]

Protected areas

With respect to conservation of flora and fauna, the protected areas are identified in the country's 15 administrative regions, plus the Metropolitan area and the Metro de Santiago, which are listed in alphabetical order (each region's serial number—based on information sourced to

There are 100 protected areas in the above listed regions covering an area of 14.5 million hectares (20% of the country) in 36 national parks, 49 national reserves, and 15 national monuments. The national monuments account for 0.01% of the area.^[5]

Bernardo O'Higgins National Park on the Chile-Argentina border

Valdivian temperate rain forest in Oncol Park in Provincia de Valdivia

Looking out over Lago Conguillío, Conguillío National Park, Chile

In terms of world statistics of area covered under protection, Chile has the second place in Latin America and seventh place in the world. However, the distribution of the protected area in the country is highly uneven with two of the 15 administrative regions garnering 84% of the protected area, and with the southern regions XI and XII having the major share of about 50% of the total area which adjoins the forest and protected areas of the Argentinian Andes of Patagonia. In the remaining regions, the protected area covered is only 4.4% of total area which is less than the accepted international norm of 5%. The protected areas are also governed by the "ice and rock" criterion adopted in the United States Wilderness System. Under this criterion, about 23% of the total area of SNASPE is covered by ice fields and other land types which have no vegetation and least habitation.^[3] Apart from the 100 terrestrial protected areas which also partly include some marine areas, now 75 new critical bird areas of marine birdlife have been identified by BirdLife International. The Important Bird Areas (IBA) cover the "cliffs of Arica, the bays of Coquimbo, Mejillones, the mouths of Biobío and Maipu rivers, the Alejandro Selkirk islands, Choros, Damas, Punta de Choros, and Parque Nacional Cabo de Hornos."^[6]

Flora

The country's flora is composed of 56 orders, 181 families, 837 genera, and about 4,295 species with large numbers in terms of genera and species from the families

In view of its geographic setting with formidable High Andes mountain on its eastern border and the arid deserts of north, deterring movement from its neighbouring countries, the terrestrial mammals species in Chile are limited to 103, out of a total mammal species count of about 148. The land mammals are mostly

Native marine mammals include elephant seals and sea lions.^[11] Blue whales (in the Gulf of Corcovado) (the largest mammal in the world), humpback, sei and sperm whales, sea otters, and dolphin species are also reported.

Birds

The national bird of Chile is the Andean condor^[17] The total avifauna species in Chile as reported by BirdLife International, as of 2012, number 530, including 14 endemic species (two breeding in Chile), 37 globally threatened species, and 7 introduced species.^[18] The globally endangered, endemic and introduced species are as follows:^[18]

Chilean mockingbird (Mimus thenca)

Rufous-collared sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis)

Austral thrush (Turdus falcklandii magellanicus)

Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus), breeds in colonies in the south.

Critically endangered

Endangered

Near threatened

Vulnerable

Endemic

Non-marine molluscs

A number of species of non-marine molluscs are found in the wild in Chile. Native Orthalicidae include 29 species of genus Bostryx and 12 species of genus Plectostylus.^[19]

Marine molluscs

The marine molluscs of Chile number 1070 species, including

There are many reasons for the decline of fauna and flora in Chile. These generally relate to encroachment of land for agriculture and mining (widespread deforestation), hunting for felt, food and trade of animals, and attack by other animals and birds. It is reported that nearly 33% of the mammals species face threat of extinction.[2]^[14]

In the marine area, the threats posed are from industrial fishing (salmon farming and cultured mussels) and aquaculture particularly in the Gulf of Corcovado, intensive exploitation of marine resources, with large maritime traffic of trawls, associated fishing.^[10]

Conservation

In this context of mammals species in Central Chile, a highly populated region, is of conservation concern. Even in the arid areas of northern Chile, the concern for conservation is essential. Chilean authorities, with international assistance, have made progress in addressing these problems but much remains to be done that will require continued international assistance if many unique forms are to be preserved.^[21]

Conservation of wildlife is achieved through protected areas set up and managed by both the government organizations such as the SNAPPE and its implementation wing the CONAF, and also through private initiatives. Commercial exploitation is controlled by the

• 
  Araucaria araucana trees in Conguillío National Park
• 
  Pudú in Chile
• 
  Chilla fox, common in the region
• 
  Andean condor (Vultur gryphus), the national bird of Chile
• 
  Lycalopex culpaeus, a culpeo or Andean fox
• 
  A guanaco in northern Chile
• 
  Torres del Paine from Lake Pehoé, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

See also

• List of ecoregions in Chile
• Climate of Chile
• Geology of Chile
• Geography of Chile
• Jurgen Rottmann

References

• Chester, Sharon (19 April 2010). A Wildlife Guide to Chile: Continental Chile, Chilean Antarctica, Easter Island, Juan Fernandez Archipelago. Princeton University Press.
  ISBN 978-1-4008-3150-0
  .
• Conover, Michael R. (12 December 2010). Resolving Human-Wildlife Conflicts: The Science of Wildlife Damage Management. Taylor & Francis.
  ISBN 978-1-56670-538-7
  .
• Gordon, Iain J. (13 January 2009). The Vicuna: The Theory and Practice of Community Based Wildlife Management. Springer.
  ISBN 978-0-387-09476-2
  .
• Moreira-Muñoz, Andrés (19 January 2011). Plant Geography of Chile. Springer.
  ISBN 978-90-481-8748-5
  .