Patagonia Puma, Chiloe Pudu, Chile Feb.2019

[Zubbie15]

Wow what great puma sightings.  Probably my biggest traveling regret is that I went to TdP the year before our first trip to Africa, and so before I realized how much I like safari and animal watching, and so we didn’t try to see pumas while in Patagonia.  I’ll definitely have to get back there sometime soon.

[mapumbo]

19 hours ago, Zubbie15 said:

Wow what great puma sightings.  Probably my biggest traveling regret is that I went to TdP the year before our first trip to Africa, and so before I realized how much I like safari and animal watching, and so we didn’t try to see pumas while in Patagonia.  I’ll definitely have to get back there sometime soon.

You would certainly want to engage the services of a dedicated puma tracking expert.  Puma tracking is a bit of a misnomer.  I think it is more of a network of knowledge of where they have made kills and where they are hanging out, shared between the trackers and the rangers.  You cannot go off road in the park and have to stay on the established trails so you are limited in that respect.

Edited April 8, 2019 by mapumbo

[Zubbie15]

19 hours ago, mapumbo said:

You would certainly want to engage the services of a dedicated puma tracking expert.  Puma tracking is a bit of a misnomer.  I think it is more of a network of knowledge of where they have made kills and where they are hanging out, shared between the trackers and the rangers.  You cannot go off road in the park and have to stay on the established trails so you are limited in that respect.

 

Indeed - we had a "general" guide for a couple of days we were there, and saw a good variety of mammals, except for pumas.  He would stop in places where he'd seen pumas regularly, but it certainly wasn't the type of tracking that would be likely to work beyond getting lucky.  

[gatoratlarge]

Sure have enjoyed this trip report!  I'm hoping to go to Chile in late January of next year so this is extremely helpful and now the anticipation is killing me!

Thanks for sharing!

[mapumbo]

8 hours ago, gatoratlarge said:

Sure have enjoyed this trip report!  I'm hoping to go to Chile in late January of next year so this is extremely helpful and now the anticipation is killing me!

Thanks for sharing!

Yes, the next adventure never seems to be soon enough.

Thank you and I'm glad you enjoyed the report.  The photos were almost all Mama Ndege's, except for the walk in the rain when her cold was the worst and she stayed in camp.

[Chakra]

Absolutely stunning scenery, a sense of desolation, adventure and wonderful wildlife. Irresistible. I'm sure this report would be very handy to me in future. Thanks for sharing. 

[mapumbo]

11 hours ago, Chakra said:

Absolutely stunning scenery, a sense of desolation, adventure and wonderful wildlife. Irresistible. I'm sure this report would be very handy to me in future. Thanks for sharing. 

Thank you.  I'm glad you found the TR useful.  I intended for it to be of help to fellow safaritalkers.  When I was planning the trip I found it fairly difficult to find much information on travel to Chile.  There are all kinds of companies I have since noticed, but they don't pop up when doing a search on the internet.  We were very satisfied with the job Swoop Patagonia did for us and I think they have a good reputation.

The areas we visited were beautiful and I think there are other areas worth a visit as well.

[TonyQ]

A very late thank you for your report @mapumbo. It sounds like a great trip. Very enjoyable writing and as usual excellent photos from Mama Ndebele. Wonderful Pumas and landscapes 

Best wishes to both of you from me and @Thursday's Child