Marine whales, penguins,
elephants and wolves together with beautiful birds reproduce themselves
and develop in a very safe environment. The Peninsula Valdes and
Punta Tombo are two examples of how the inhabitants of Chubut
work hard in order to preserve the sea fauna. The waters of the
Golfo San José are calm when there is no wind, they are
the ideal stage to locate the animals. The air is so pure and
transparent that one can distinguish the complete drawing of the
Golfo with its walls of pale yellow color falling and peeping
on an emerald sea, without wrinkles, inmobile, quiet. In the loveliness
of this inmense anphitheatre, the most amazing show is at sight:
the right (franca) whale. This huge sea animal which weights almost
60 tons, comes to these coasts to reproduce itself. After nine
or ten months of gestation it gives birth to one breed (whale
calf) which feed of its mother's milk throughout a year. The right
(franca) whale feeds on different zooplanctons species, among
them, the krill, that the whale filters through its whale bone.
After many years of persecution it is believed that there are
only 2,000 of this kind most hunted by man. Fortunately, there
are some men, very few, really, who spring after spring, achieve
vulnerable coyness of the whales and live together with them during
long weeks, that often turned into months. There are also people
who work for the development of tourism, giving tourists the opportunity
to be in direct contact with the whales. In fact, one feels a
stranger in a territory belonging to the whales.
The entrance to
the Península Valdés is 80 km. away to the North of Puerto Madryn.
It is situated in Route 2. After walking through a narrow way
you get to a building which is the entrance to Golfo San Jorge
and Isla de los Pájaros Reserve, a two hectares natural reserve.
When the tide lowers you can get there on foot. In the past, this
place was the cradle of many different species of birds like seagulls,
cormorants, herones, oystercatchers, royal herons, ducks, etc.
Unfortunately, nowadays that variety has been diminished due to
the alteration in the natural balance caused by the presence of
the great number of tourists. Although the situation is being
changed by a group of people who decided to protect this place
and take care of the seven species that can still be found there.
As the presence of tourists is still a common denominator of this
region the government has built viewpoints where you can appreciate
the wonders of nature using the big binoculars found there in
order not to disturb the privacy of its feathered inhabitants.
In Puerto Pirámides
you will find a colony of seals and sea lions. More than a thousand
of them come during the reproduction season and stay in
terraces which can be found there. The sea lions and the sea bears
have ears and they walk on the land helped by their back
flippers. In November and December the males are the first to
arrive to the colony, they are five times bigger than the females.
As soon as they arrive they start defending their territory against
the other males. When they are on guard these animals start to
roar and fight at the same time they try to get as many females
as possible for their harems. In January the calves, which have
been conceived during the previous summer, are born. They have
dark skin and enjoy playing in the water at the same time their
mothers look after them.
Driving along route
2 you will be able to see lot of farms where flocks of sheep can
be appreciated as well as guanacos, ñandúes, tinamúes and maras.
The tinamúes are birds which have a brown plumage, they are very
similar to the roadrunners. In South America there are more than
50 species of tinamúes and a great number of them live in Península
Valdés. Tinamúes measure 60 cm. They have a whistle similar to
a flute sound. It is not common to see them flying. Nowadays,
laws protect them from hunters as tinamúes meat has a great demand.
On both sides of the route, some funny animals can be seen. They
are the maras, a Patagonic version of the hare. Maras have long
ears, long hind legs which allow them to run and hide very quickly
in the bushes. An adult mara measures 60 cm.
Caleta Valdés is
situated 34 km to the North of Punta Delgada. It is a narrowing
inlet plenty of sea elephants. An adult male is 6 meters length,
weights 3 tons and has a big snout which growls during the
mating season. According to statistics, every year between 4,000
and 5,000 sea elephants are expected to arrive.
Penguins can be
found in Punta Tombo and Cabo Dos Bahías, both places are to the
South of Puerto Madryn. Punta Tombo at the distance of 209 km
from Puerto Madryn while Cabo Dos Bahías 185 km. Those animals
are used to walking freely among the tourists. They chirp very
loudly specially in the afternoons. Their tweet has a sound similar
to a bray.