Pumas, although widespread throughout the Americas, are extremely elusive and difficult to see in the wild. Following the continued success of our Brazilian Jaguar tours, we decided to see if we could repeat our success with Pumas in Chile and have now run two tours seeing Pumas on no fewer than eight days.

In 2007 we saw a female plus three cubs and another female on four consecutive days, twice catching her Brown Hares in front of us and twice with a large youngster in tow!

In 2008 we saw a female and four cubs on three consecutive days, on a kill on two days, and two single Pumas in addition.

We will search for Pumas in the spectacular Torres del Paine National Park which is also home to other mammals such as Culpeo Fox, Chilla, Guanaco and Southern Huemel, and many birds including the spectacular Andean Condor. Elsewhere in southern Patagonia we will look for Peale’s and Chilean Dolphins and birds such as Rufous-chested and Tawny-throated Dotterel plus Least Seedsnipe.

We will also explore Isla Grande de Chiloe where we will look for Blue Whales, Darwin’s Fox, Southern Pudu, Kodkod, Southern Sealion and Marine and Sourthern River Otters along with birds such as Magellanic and Humboldt Penguins, the stunning Chucao Tapaculo and the impressive Black-throated Huet-huet.

To see Pumas we are likely to need to spend long periods scanning suitable habitat so we will split into two groups to cover as much ground as possible. The groups will stay in contact by radio and we will also have local rangers working with us to maximize our chances of seeing the wildlife.

We will spotlight at night for Pumas in Torres del Paine and on Isla Grande de Chiloe for Kodkod, Darwin’s Fox and Southern Pudu and we expect to take boat trips out to look for Blue Whales and Marine and Southern River Otters in Chiloe.

This is a tour dedicated to looking primarily for mammals, and then birds, and we will therefore spend long days in the field to maximize our chances of success. In Torres del Paine there are likely to be a number of longish walks over sometimes difficult terrain to enable us to spend as much time as possible in prime Puma habitat, although it should be noted that several of the sightings on the first tour were from vehicles, and that Richard Webb (who conceived this tour) has seen a family of four Pumas from a vehicle during our first recce.

Selected mammals seen in 2007 and 2008 (full species list for both trips on our website)

Large Hairy Armadillo
Coypu Culpeo Fox
Chilla Darwin’s Fox
Southern River Otter Marine Otter
Patagonian Skunk Kodkod (Guigna)
Puma Southern Sea Lion
Chilean Dolphin Peale’s Dolphin
Blue Whale Guanaco
South Andean Deer (Southern) Pudu

Itinerary

Day 1: Depart London Heathrow early evening for Santiago via Madrid.
Day 2: Arrive Santiago – Connect with internal flight to Punta Arenas – Transfer from airport – Pre-dinner drive south from Punta Arenas for Peale’s Dolphin and birding – Overnight Punta Arenas.
Day 3: Long drive to Torres del Paine looking for birds and mammals on en route – Arrive Torres del Paine early evening – First search for Puma before dinner – Overnight in the park.
Days 4-7: Four days searching for Puma and other mammals and birds in Torres del Paine (e.g. Guanaco, Southern Andean Deer, Culpeo and Argentinian Grey Fox, Patagonian Skunk, etc) – Overnights in the park.
Day 8: Drive to Rio Verde. Afternoon/evening at Seno Skyring looking for Chilean (Black) Dolphin – Overnight Punta Arenas.
Day 9: Morning around Punta Arenas. Afternoon flight to Puerto Montt and transfer to Isla Grande de Chiloe – Overnight.
Days 10-14: Based in Ancud in northern Chiloe and Parque Tepuhueico in the centre of Chiloe we will spend our time looking for mammals such as Blue Whale, Southern Pudu, Darwin’s Fox, Peale’s and Chilean Dolphins and Marine and Southern River Otters and birds such as Magellanic Woodpecker and Black-throated Huet-huet.
Day 15: Early morning flight from Puerto Montt to Santiago to connect with early afternoon flight to London via Madrid.
Day 16: Arrival back at London Heathrow.

Holiday Information

Dates: 28th February – 15th March 2009 leader Regina Ribeiro and local guides.
Cost: £4299 per person sharing a twin room.
Single supplement: £459
Deposit: £350
Max. Group size: 10

2010 Advance Registration
2010, Advance register for only £50 per person,
6th-21st March, leaders Regina Ribeiro or Richard Webb and local guides.

Price includes: International and internal economy class flights including pre-paid taxes, all ground transportation, two boat trips, all accommodation and meals from dinner on day 2 to breakfast on day 15, bottle of mineral water per day, park entry fees, services of WildWings leader and local guides, pre-trip information package plus mammal and bird checklist.

Price excludes: Travel insurance, laundry bills, gratuities and other items of a personal nature.

Our 2007 and 2008 trip reports plus mammal and bird species lists are on our website or available from us here.