Location: 66 mi (107 km) South of Trelew, Chubut Province Map
Open: Sep- Apr 8am- 6pm daily
Info: (02965) 15 565 222
Best time to visit: between September and April then Magellan penguins come here to nest and rare their young.
Punta Tombo Provincial Reserve is located 66 mi (107 km) South of Trelew in Argentina. It is famous for huge colonies of various species of penguins who come here. Visitors of Punta Tombo Provincial Reserve come to watch somewhat clumsy, but beautiful, social animals on land. Punta Tombo Provincial Reserve is the most popular and the most visited protected bioreserve in Chubut Province of Argentina. It lies 180 km from the city of Puerto Madryn. Taking a bus from Puerto Madryn is probably the easiest way to get here, although two and a half hour ride might much longer. Thousands of locals and international tourists (65,000 to be exact) alike flock here to take a peak at local celeberties, Magellanic penguins.
Punta Tombo Provincial Reserve is located on the coast and occupies a small area of 3 km long and 600 meters wide. The center piece of the nature reserve is a sandy and gravel beach, shielded by rocks. Thousands of penguins come here for breeding and raising their young. It is interesting that these birds that measure only 50- 70 cm at height are not afraid of people. Many of them allow people to approach them to a close distance and some even allow tourists to pet them. Of course suck close interaction between humans and penguins is officially banned by the reserve rangers. The general rule in Punta Tombo Provincial Reserve is that you should stick to the designated hiking trails.
Entrance to Punta Tombo Provincial Reserve is full of information boards that present tourists with information about the lifestyle and habits of Magellanic penguins. Most of these magnificent birds stick to the water, where they find their main source of food, the fish. Their nests are located in small burros on the shore. When they are not hunting for food penguins march leisurely along the shore with their whole families, communicating with each other.
Management as a nature reserve began in the 1960s, and as of 1979,
the Chubut government designated it a "Protected Natural Area",
controlling its access and establishing a permanent wildlife ranger
service. According to official data, the number of visitors shows a
significant evolution year after year, from an annual average of 30,000
tourists in the 1990s to approximately 100,000 registered in the
2015-2016 season. Of them, a significant and growing number are
foreigners. The season runs from September to April, the time when the
birds come to the coast to nest and take care of their young.
physical characteristics
Punta Tombo is a narrow rocky strip about 3
km long by 600 m wide that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean. The
pronounced geographical accident has originated in an outcrop of
crystalline rock, of pre-Jurassic origin, which has resisted marine
erosion. On this substrate, areas of boulders, and —essentially— large
areas of very fine and compacted sand, are ideal for penguins to dig
their nests.
Vast areas of the ground are literally "mined" for
shallow caves, where penguins year after year lay their eggs and raise
their chicks. The gentle slope of these beaches also facilitates the
land movement of the birds, which several times a day make the journey
between the nests and the sea to feed.
The penguins, although
alert to human interference, do not get scared or leave their nests, so
the interaction is very direct. To avoid accidents and harm to animals,
walkways have been built since the reserve was created to allow visitors
to circulate without the danger of collapsing the caves as they pass.
Fauna
The terrestrial fauna is typical of the Patagonian steppe.
The presence of guanacos (Lama guanicoe), gray foxes (Lycalopex
gymnocercus), ferrets (Galictis cuja), guinea pigs (Microcavia
australis), maras (Dolichotis patagonum) and furry (Chaetophractus
villosus) have been observed. An islet located at the end of the rocky
strip that makes up the point is a regular colony of sea lions (Otaria
flavescens).
Avifauna
Punta Tombo penguin colony (prov. of
Chubut), located 180 km south of the city of Puerto Madryn.
With some
variations depending on the season, the presence of 400,000 specimens of
Magellanic penguins has been recorded in Punta Tombo, a number that is
reached after verifying some 150,000 active nests for 2017, that is,
nests in which a breeding pair, which makes it the second largest
continental penguin colony of this species. The first and largest colony
is the Estancia San Lorenzo Nature Reserve, with an amount, for the same
year, of 210,000 active nests, about 600,000 penguins.
Other
species of birds observed in the place include the cook gull (Larus
dominicanus) and gray or austral, (Leucophaeus scoresbii): the South
American terns (Sterna hirundinacea), yellow beak (Thalasseus
sandvicensis) and real (Thalasseus maximus); the black-necked cormorant
(Phalacrocorax magellanicus) and imperial cormorant (Phalacrocorax
atriceps); the black (Haematopus ater) and common (Haematopus palliatus)
oystercatchers; dusky giant petrels (Macronectes halli) and common giant
petrels (Macronectes giganteus): Greater Ducks (Anas sibilatrix) and
Crested Ducks (Lophonetta specularioides); and the white heron (Ardea
alba) and witch (Nycticorax nycticorax).
Due to its
characteristics, the reserve is classified as one of the important areas
for the conservation of birds in Argentina.
breeding season
The male penguins arrive on the beaches in late August, reconditioning
the same nest (pit or cave) that the family used year after year. At the
beginning of October, the females lay two eggs, which they hatch for
forty days. During this time, the pair take turns feeding and caring for
the nest. Any carelessness is taken advantage of by seagulls and other
birds to feed at the expense of the eggs. By the end of April, the
chicks have learned to swim and feed themselves, and embark with their
parents on their annual journey across the Atlantic.
Flora
The
vegetation is typical of the ecoregion: scarce, with large areas without
the presence of species, due to the sandy characteristics of the soil
with little or no presence of organic matter and the scarcity of water,
low temperatures and the wind typical of the region. Among the few
species present, the quilimbai (Chuquiraga avellanedae), the Colapiche
(Nassauvia glomerulosa) and the bitter coirón (Stipa speciosa) stand
out.
Anthropological reference
In the hills that dominate the place,
remains of a Tehuelche cemetery have been found. These native peoples
have known the place since ancient times, and used it as a seasonal
habitat on their usual journeys through the Patagonian steppe.
International Studies
Since 1982, together with local technicians,
the operation and sustainability of the reserve is studied, among
others, by the New York Zoological Society, and the Wildlife
Conservation Society.
Threats
The main threat to the reserve,
as a permanent colony of penguins, is the proximity of oil exploitation
and the navigation near the coast of oil tankers. An accidental spill
could mean the disappearance of the colony in a short time and the
impossibility of its recreation. Unauthorized fishing in the waters of
the gulf, which has an unbalanced effect on the number of individuals of
the different species, and the presence of poachers are some of the
accessory threats to the conservation of the area.
The presence
of private rural farms in the immediate vicinity of the reserve
constitutes a potential risk that materialized at the end of November
2021, (in the middle of the breeding season), when an unauthorized
opening of a path was made in a field adjoining the protected area.
access to shore. The machinery used for this destroyed approximately 140
nests; In addition, the electrification carried out on the perimeter
fence caused the death by electrocution of a hundred adult specimens.
The inspection carried out days later revealed that an area of
approximately 700 meters long and 3 meters wide had been affected.
they found a total of 292 dead chicks or destroyed eggs and it was not
possible to estimate the number of adults that would have died inside
the nests.