Patagonia Puma, Chiloe Pudu, Chile Feb.2019

[Atdahl]

Wow!  Fantastic!  What a thrill that must have been.

[mapumbo]

 

The mother puma and cub went back up to the top of the hill after their playtime and disappeared.  We all had huge smiles after watching their antics.  Jose and his helpers head back to the ranger station that is at the end of the Fauna Trail.  When we pull up to the station we can see Raphael and Braulio beckoning to us to head back up the trail where we had returned from a couple hours before.

 

We hustled up the trail toward them and after we caught our breath we saw  a large group of hikers standing in a group looking intently in one direction.  We joined them and they said they think there is a puma in a bushy area a short distance away across the fence on the private land.  We scan the bush with our binocs and come up with nothing.  By this time Jose is coming up the trail and looks over to the area the puma is supposed to be.  He doesn't say anything but walks on past peering up ahead.  Our group follows behind and Mama Ndege spies the puma walking up the fence line a good half mile away.  With over a dozen pairs of eyes watching the bush the puma somehow slipped away without anyone seeing her.  It did not take Jose more than a moment to realize that she was not in the bush when he could see birds flying in and out of the area.  Pelin said that is why the puma is known as "the ghost cat"   It seems that this one is especially sneaky as Jose has been trying to get a good photo of her and still has not succeeded.  Likewise, we did not get a photo either since she was so far away and heading out of sight.  We probably walked near her when we first hiked the trail this morning and that explains why we took that trail to begin with in hopes of catching sight of her.

 

4 puma in the first morning, who would have guessed?  We had been driving those same roads the last five days and hiking the same trails and had not seen one.

[mapumbo]

16 minutes ago, Atdahl said:

Wow!  Fantastic!  What a thrill that must have been.

Yes, we felt very fortunate, even our driver Javier said that if he died now he would die happy.

[mapumbo]

Jose says the time for puma watching is over till later in the day.  We all head for Laguna Azure to have lunch and a siesta.  

 

 

CONDOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOUTHERN CRESTED CARA CARA

 

 

UPLAND GEESE

[mapumbo]

We found a nice spot for lunch at the lake with a picnic table.  Pelin had brought box lunches for all of us.  Afterwards Mama Ndege and i took a little stroll down along the lake.  When we came back Pelin and Javier were stretched out on the grass taking a nap so we did the same.  A little later we headed down to the ranger station near the lake to use the restroom.  Down below there was a large herd of guanacos grazing and resting.  Mama Ndege asked if it would be OK to walk down near them.  When she got down there a young guanaco which is called a chulengo was in the mood to cause trouble with a flock of geese.  It tries to creep up close to them to check them out.  When the geese scurry away to avoid the chulengo it starts running after them.  It finally gets a couple to fly and that seems to satisfy the ornery critter.  It then races back to its herd with a look of satisfaction on it's face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mapumbo]

As we are getting ready to leave the ranger station Mama Ndege is looking intently in the distance.  I think she has spotted another puma.  We get a better look and it is a skunk foraging in the grass.

 

 

 

We drive back over to Jose the puma trackers car and drive along side to wake up the napping fellows.  We then convoy back to another trail.  This one looks familiar as well.  It is the Laguna Azul trail that we had taken on the first day excursion with Echo Camp.  Pelin, the two young trackers and Mama Ndge and I walked the trail while Jose and Javier drove around to the other side to pick us up.   We did not see any pumas but there was a guanaco who thought by keeping it's head flat on the ground we would not know it was there.  After we walked by it raised it back up

 

 

 

 

[janzin]

wow, great puma sighting! Now that's what I was waiting for

[mapumbo]

Jose says it is time to head back over to where we saw the mother and cub in the morning.  We pull over and get out but there is nothing in sight.  In a short while we see the cub move around in the bushy area near the carcass.   The cub walks over to the carcass and has a little snack.  After about 15 minutes the mother pops up out of the bushes.  The cub walks over and gets the mother to play with it.  

 

This time there are several people who stop to see what we are looking at.  A family gets out and Mama Ndege shares her binoculars with them so they have a better view.  Another guy sets up his huge camera on a tripod and starts taking pictures.  After a while a group of motorcyclists cruise by and that sends the pair up the hill to the safety of the rocks.  By this time we need to head to our camp for the night.  It on the southern border of the park right outside the boundaries.  We have had a day that we could only dream of having when we decided to visit Chile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mapumbo]

1 minute ago, janzin said:

wow, great puma sighting! Now that's what I was waiting for

 

Yes, we ended the last part of our Chile tour with a bang!!!!

[Atravelynn]

Nope, can't get cuter.  Those were some playful pumas!   Tremendous sighting and even a skunk!

Edited April 7, 2019 by Atravelynn

[monalisa]

Those pumas are beautiful animals. I'm going to have to hide your TR from Mr monalisa as this is very high on his list! 

How close would you say you were to them that last time?

[mapumbo]

1 hour ago, monalisa said:

Those pumas are beautiful animals. I'm going to have to hide your TR from Mr monalisa as this is very high on his list! 

How close would you say you were to them that last time?

 

Yes, they are beautiful cats.  They really looked healthy.  

I would guess that the closest they came to us was 100 - 150 yards.  The picture of them running with the little one chasing the mother is shot without zoom to give perspective of distance.

[michael-ibk]

A fantastic Puma sighting, wonderful! I also really appreciate all the landscape pictures, they give a very good impression of the park.

[mapumbo]

4 minutes ago, michael-ibk said:

A fantastic Puma sighting, wonderful! I also really appreciate all the landscape pictures, they give a very good impression of the park.

 

The opportunity to see pumas is a great draw for this park, but the landscape is equally dramatic. 

[mapumbo]

13 hours ago, monalisa said:

Those pumas are beautiful animals. I'm going to have to hide your TR from Mr monalisa as this is very high on his list! 

How close would you say you were to them that last time?

I have to tell you also, the way we did our tour, it is easily as expensive as a comparable African safari with a private guide.

[lmonmm]

I have just spent the last hour glued to my computer uttering "WOW" every few minutes. What a fantastic trip so far. The landscapes are mind blowing. Pumas? Wow oh wow!!!! 

[mapumbo]

2 hours ago, lmonmm said:

I have just spent the last hour glued to my computer uttering "WOW" every few minutes. What a fantastic trip so far. The landscapes are mind blowing. Pumas? Wow oh wow!!!! 

I'm glad that you have enjoyed the TR.  The time with the pumas was a lifetime experience.  The rest of the tour was very enjoyable as well.  We really enjoyed Chiloe Island too.

[mapumbo]

We drove to our new camp called Riverside Camp.  It was a combo permanent dome tent and places for campers to put up their own tents.  The ones staying in the dome tents would have meals provided.  We ate breakfast,  made a sack lunch to take with us and then had dinner on return.  The tents were about the size of the bed that was in there.  They were very comfortable with lots of blankets which we needed the 2 nights we stayed there.  The restrooms and showers were communal and down the way about 25 yards.

 

 

OUR TENT WITH THE DINING TENT BEHIND

 

 

The next morning we were to leave before daylight to meet up with the trackers.  The day was windy, fairly chilly and off and on rain and mist.  We met Jose with Raphael with him today.  They were at the staging area of the park where the bridge over to the Echo Camp was still very much under water.  There was a fantastic rainbow as we got out of the truck to meet Jose.  Even a double one.  They last for quite a long time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

JOSE VARGAS PUMA TRACKER AND PELIN OR GUIDE/TRANSLATOR

 

 

We spent the morning driving around since the weather was not very pleasant.  Here are a few photos taken then.  We decided to head back to camp to eat our lunch and rest and try it again about 3 PM with the trackers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THIS WAS THE COMPANY JAVIER AND PELIN WORKED FOR

[Atravelynn]

You found the pumas at the end of the rainbow and so much more!  Stunning report!

[mapumbo]

We met Jose and Raphael on the road waiting for us as we headed back to the park.  They told us that someone had seen a puma so we followed them to the same area where the Fauna Trail ended by the ranger station.  We got out and headed backwards on the trail that we had been on 3 times before.  This is where we had seen the single puma yesterday that had slipped away unseen from the bush and gotten a half mile away before Mama Ndege spied her.  The Ghost Cat.  The beginning of the trail is fairly steep leading up from the road.  We ended up getting pretty strung out with the trackers and Pelin leaving us flatlanders behind and out of breath.  It didn't help that the wind was blowing in our face and pelting us with cold rain drops.

 

The trackers walked on ahead and we finally caught up with them.  There was no cat to be seen.  She had slipped away again.  Jose turned around and walked back the way we had come while we stood around and searched the surrounding area with our binos. Raphael got a call on his radio from Jose that he had found the puma.  We hurried  back down the trail but couldn't find Jose.  Suddenly he popped out from behind a bush next to the trail where he had been lying down.  We all got a good laugh out of that.  He pointed over the fence to a group of bushes where we had to really look with our binos to see the head of the puma.  I have NO idea how Jose saw her as he was walking back, but I guess that's why he is a puma tracker and we are tourists. 

 

We all hunkered down, trying to find any protection from the cold wind to see if she was going to show more of herself.  She was only about 50 yards away.  We waited about 45 minutes and some of us were ready to leave with not much argument from the rest.  At least we could say we saw another puma today.

 

 

THERE IS A PUMA IN THERE, ONLY A PUMA TRACKER CAN SEE

 

 

THAT LITTLE BUSH DID NOT OFFER MUCH OF A WIND BREAK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mapumbo]

5 minutes ago, Atravelynn said:

You found the pumas at the end of the rainbow and so much more!  Stunning report!

Thank you @Atravelynn a wonderful compliment coming from the person with the fabulous wildebeest river crossing photos.

 

[mapumbo]

We went back to camp after the time with the puma in the bush and spent a nippy night in the tent.  We were told that the next day was going to be the same weather only more rain.  We had a morning of puma tracking scheduled before driving back to Puerto Natales to spend the night and catch our plane back to Santiago the following morning.  We told Pelin we were satisfied with the experience that we have had and we could sleep a little later, meet Jose and say farewell and thank you, and then head on to Puerto Natales from there.

 

The next morning seemed to be no worse that the day before.  We drove into the park and met Jose and Raphael.  They showed us some photos they had just taken of a different group of puma. We drove back up the road where they had seen them but they were gone.  We kicked ourselves for wimping out on the morning excursion.  Generally we do not pass up any opportunity when on safari to go out.  Being the last day should have been added incentive.  Oh well.  We had a superb experience and can't complain about all the good luck we had at unique sightings from start to finish.

 

The drive back was very pleasant.  The sun would even pop out once in a while.  We saw some more great scenery, some really nice herds of quality cattle, and large sheep ranches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mapumbo]

We arrived at our hotel at Puerto Natales.  We had box lunches from the camp so we had them and then walked around the town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mapumbo]

Our last morning in Chile we had time again to stroll around the town of Puerto Natales before we had to leave for the airport for our flight to Santiago and then home..  We spent most of our time on the dock area of the seaport.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THREE GENTLEMEN FISHING IN THE EARLY MORNING

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE SOUTHERN POLAR ICE FIELD FROM THE AIRPLANE

 

 

[Atravelynn]

More black neck swans to go along with the gorgeous scenery and the guanacos.  Those statues of flying people are very cool.

Even without that last puma outing, you did exceptionally well.