Day In The Life

Chile

At the southern tip of South America, on the island of Tierra del Fuego, you’ll find nearly 750,000 acres (300,000 hectares) of peatlands and sub-Antarctic forests.

WCS manages a protected area here called Karukinka Natural Park. Just south of the park, a 20-30 minute ride away on a zodiac, is Jackson Bay. A group of elephant seals returns here to form a seasonal colony annually, to change fur and give birth.

WCS Chile has been monitoring the colony for more than 15 years. It was first described in 2006, when 46 individuals were counted. Today, more than 200 adults arrive each year.

Every year, elephant seals arrive south of Karukinka Natural Park. Our team recently visited the site, Jackson Bay. We do this regularly to monitor and count the population.

The site is beautiful but remote. The conditions can be tough. Our team of scientists works through them in order to get a hand count of the population.

Once in the bay, we must move slowly so as not to disturb the animals. We have to cross a river to count all the individuals in the colony.

To deal with the conditions, we also use a drone. It’s able to fly in the rain and the strong Patagonian winds.

In the last five years, we’ve seen a steady increase in the number of births. This season, we counted 33 pups in Jackson Bay.

Thanks for visiting!