CHAPTER XVIII[27

THE LARGER MAMMALS OF PATAGONIA

Little known of natural history of Patagonia -- Distribution of principal mammals -- Huemul -- Range -- Habits -- Horns -- Not timid in remote districts -- Curiosity -- Common puma -- Immense numbers -- Destructive habits -- Method of attack -- Silent -- Expert in hiding lair -- Pearson's puma -- Points of difference -- Characteristics -- Guanaco -- Wide range -- Large herds -- Quantities of bones at drinking-places -- Hard winters -- Habits -- Lack of affection for young -- Patagonian cavy -- Arbitrary limit of range -- Weight -- Habits -- Armadillo.

In commencing this chapter I may remark that, as far as English publications are concerned, I have found nothing bearing on the zoology of South-eastern Patagonia of later date than the book of Captain Musters, published in 1871, and no work whatever dealing with the mammals of the Cordillera.

Captain Musters traversed the country with a tribe of Tehuelche Indians, and only at one point touched the Cordillera. His book is essentially a book treating of these interesting Indians, and he does little more than refer now and then to the zoology of the land through which he passed.

Every one is, of course, familiar with the volumes to which the voyages of the _Adventure_ and the _Beagle_ gave rise, but it must be remembered that the most westerly point attained by the boat-party from the _Beagle_, which ascended the Santa Cruz River, was Mystery Plain. In no English work whatever has any mention been made of the huemul (_Xenelaphus bisulcus_), a deer peculiar to the Southern Cordillera, nor have we any account of the habits of the puma, or, I should rather say, the pumas of Patagonia. During the time we spent in Patagonia we covered a considerable portion of the country, and passed some five or six months within the Cordillera, or in their immediate neighbourhood, so that we had ample opportunity for making some interesting observations.

To begin with, I should like to say a few words concerning the distribution, broadly speaking, of the principal mammals of Patagonia.

Patagonia is divided practically into sections by its eastward-flowing rivers. To-day the jaguar (_Felis onca_) does not, I am informed, range south of the River Colorado, although specimens were killed in the vicinity of the River Negro fifteen years ago. The River Deseado forms the southern limit of the distribution of the Patagonian cavy (_Dolichotis patagonica_). The armadillo (_Dasypus minutus_) is never found south of the River Santa Cruz. During four months which I spent south of that river I did not see one, but when for three days we crossed to the north bank we met with four and killed one. _Dasypus minutus_ is very common in the neighbourhood of Bahia Camerones. The range of the huemul (_Xenelaphus bisulcus_) is confined to the Cordillera or their close proximity, according to my experience, while _Felis concolor puma_, and the guanaco may be said to cover the entire country as regards the plains, and I have seen the animals or their traces in various parts of the Cordillera.

So much for general distribution.

1. Huemul (_Xenelaphus bisulcus_).

(_Huemul_ or _Guemal_ of the Argentines and Chilians; _Ciervo_ of the Gauchos of Southern Patagonia; _Shóan_ of the Tehuelches.)

In the neighbourhood of Lake Buenos Aires this beautiful deer first came under my observation. On the south side of the River de los Antiguos I saw a buck (which I shot), two does and a pricket. I was told by my Gaucho, Humphrey Jones, that the huemul is found in the forests as far north as the Welsh colony of The 16th October, about lat. 43°; on the south its range extends to the Straits of Magellan. The easterly limit of their present habitat may be said to be the foothills of the Andes. Dr. F. P. Moreno, however, states that these animals have been seen in the hills in the vicinity of Port Desire, on the Atlantic Coast: I do not think that they are any longer to be found there. As far as my personal observations go, I never came across a specimen farther east than a couple of miles from the shore of Lake Buenos Aires upon its north-eastern side. The Indians said that these deer were at one time more numerous in that region.

During the summer the huemules leave the lower grounds, where the mosquitoes trouble them, and travel up to the snow-line of the Cordillera and even beyond it. At this season I never saw a large herd, but in the winter Mr. Cattle, a pioneer living near Lake Argentino, informed me that he had seen a large herd of over a hundred strong that visited the lake. In the warmer weather I noticed them usually in small parties of two or three, seldom more.

These animals are in the habit of wandering outside the forests in the evening and forenoon, but in the afternoon they generally retire to their shelter, where they often lie down. I have found them inhabiting the margins of the dense forests upon the slopes of the Cordillera which border the lakes. They are excellent swimmers, and cross the broad arms of Lake Argentino without hesitation.

In December the huemules which I shot were shedding their winter coat, and I noticed the bucks were farther advanced in this matter than the does. There were a few scraps of velvet clinging to the horns of one of the bucks which I shot on December 9, 1901. It is curious to note that the Indians, on seeing my reindeer-skin sleeping-bag, triumphantly identified it as being made of the pelt of the huemul!

The best head that I secured carried five points. Mr. Von Plaaten Hallermund, of the Argentine Boundary Commission, told me he had seen a huemul's head carrying eight points in the neighbourhood of Lake San Martin. One of my _peones_, Bernardo Hähansen, who had penetrated into the same district, said he had also seen an eight-pointer. Mr. Cattle and his companions shot two bucks, both of which were four-pointers.

Save for the attacks of pumas, the huemul lives pretty well undisturbed in his fastnesses. The Indians do not hunt them, as in the forest-land horses and _boleadores_ are comparatively useless. They do occasionally kill a few of these deer, however, which may have strayed to the foothills or to the shores of the lakes.

Huemules are, in general, very confiding, for their range is confined for the most part to districts where they have little chance of making acquaintance with the human race. But near the colony of The 16th October, Jones told me that they had become very wary and difficult of access, as was to be expected in a region where they are constantly hunted. In the more unpenetrated parts the buck is very courageous in the rutting season, and has been known to make some show of attacking man. On open ground, in my own experience, they manifested wonderfully little timidity, and would wait for the approach of man, but inside the forests they invariably dashed away on catching a glimpse of one of our party. If, however, you have a dog with you, they will in all cases take to flight.

In the preceding chapter I have given various illustrations of the natural tameness of the huemul.

When it has observed something unusual in its surroundings, this deer will remain watching, and without moving, for a great length of time. On one occasion I saw near Lake Argentino a buck and doe about a quarter of a mile away. I was lying under a bush watching some wild cattle, a herd of which were above me against the snow-line, and the huemules stood and watched me for nearly an hour. They were some ten yards from each other. Presently the cattle moved, and I followed them upwards. I returned unsuccessful in the evening to the spot, not having fired a shot, and found the two deer still watching my horse, which was tied up on the shore of the lake.

On one or two occasions when I have fired at a huemul the others of the herd have run towards the noise. Once this happened when I was in full sight of the animals.

Musters, in his travels through Patagonia, mentions a "red" deer. Of this I could find no trace, so that in all probability he alluded to the huemul under that name; the reddish tinge of the huemul's hair lends likelihood to this suggestion.

No. 2. Puma (_Felis concolor puma_).

(_Leon_ of the Argentines; _Gol_ of the Tehuelches.)

This is the silver-grey variety of puma most commonly met with in Patagonia. The distribution of this animal extends over the entire country. It is to be found in the Cordillera as on the pampas. I came upon tracks of this animal at the end of the north-west fjord of Lake Argentino about long. 73° 14´, and I also saw a puma at the south-western extremity of that lake.

Evidence of their existence accompanied the whole itinerary of the expedition throughout the entire route it covered. The number of pumas in Patagonia is very great, more so than any zoologist has yet given an idea of. During one winter two pioneers killed seventy-three near Lake Argentino. Near San Julian immense numbers are yearly destroyed, but lately, owing to the advent of settlers, they are becoming less numerous. At Bahia Camerones, on the farm of Mr. Greenshields, fourteen pumas were killed during the winter of 1900.

A female killed near Santa Cruz measured 6 ft. 10 in., and a male killed near Lake Argentino 8 ft. 1 in.

The puma can easily be galloped down, as it rarely runs more than 300 yards or a quarter of a mile when pursued on horseback. It invariably stands at bay with its back to a bush or a rock.

In strong contradistinction to the habit of the _Felis onca_ (jaguar), _F. c. puma_, when hunting, kills a number of animals from a flock or herd. To one only of these kills, however, does it return, and it always makes some pretence of burying the victim singled out for its meal, throwing upon the body in many cases merely a small bunch of thorns. This custom of the puma is frequently taken advantage of by the shepherds, who poison the chosen carcass. The puma, ninety times out of a hundred, makes its first meal upon the entrails of the victim or upon the thigh inside of the groin.

The destruction wrought by pumas upon flocks of sheep is immense. One animal killed upwards of 100 head from among a single flock. One night alone its total amounted to fourteen. Another point in connection with the predatory habits of the puma is that it will travel a long distance, even as much as ten or twelve miles, after killing.

Its method of attack, judging from an examination of its victims, appears to be to spring upon the shoulders of its quarry and to break its neck. Cases are reported of pumas attacking horses, but no instance of this came under my own notice. They generally select a stormy and tempestuous night during which to make their depredations. It is rather curious, as occasionally happens, to see a herd of cows with their calves take up the trail of a puma with a great deal of lowing and fuss, but they do not follow it for any distance.

Darwin writes that the puma is a very silent animal, uttering no cry even when wounded, and only rarely during the breeding season. One moonlight night, in a forest by Lake Argentino, a couple of pumas came out of the dark and began to walk round and round the camp, and continued to do so for more than an hour, all the time keeping up their peculiar cry. On no other occasion--though, as I have said, pumas or rather the evidences of their presence, accompanied us through our long journeys--did I hear them break silence.

Pumas are more often destroyed in winter, when the snow lies on the ground, and their tracks can be followed to their hiding-places; otherwise they are so marvellously expert in concealing themselves that it is often impossible to find their lair.

Authentic instances of pumas having attacked man are few; but some have certainly occurred.

No. 3. Pearson's Puma (_Felis concolor pearsoni_).

On my return from Patagonia I brought with me a puma-skin, which seemed to me to differ in some essential respects from any known species. Mr. J. G. Millais, on examining the skin, agreed with me, and pointed out that it possessed several characteristics which do not occur in _Felis concolor puma_. I took the skin to the Natural History Museum, where Mr. Oldfield Thomas came to the conclusion that the animal was a sub-species of _F. c. puma_, and named it _Felis concolor pearsoni_.

The chief points of difference between the two species are as follows: The very different general colour, _F. c. pearsoni_ being reddish-fawn instead of silver-grey. The proportionately very short tail; light instead of dark colour on the backs of the ears, which are, moreover, sharply pointed in the case of the new sub-species, and there is an absence of the dark markings round the digital pads which distinguishes _Felis concolor puma_.

Several Gauchos, settlers and Indians informed me that there were two kinds of pumas in Patagonia, one being very common, silver-grey in colour and cowardly; the other they described as rare, much fiercer, of a reddish colour, and somewhat smaller than the common grey species. Amongst the seventy-three pumas killed by the English pioneers near Lake Argentino, one, Mr. Cattle told me, differed very much from the ordinary puma, and judging from the description he gave of it, I have no hesitation in concluding that it was a specimen of _Felis concolor pearsoni_.

No. 4. Guanaco (_Lama huanachus_).

(_Guanaco_ of settlers, Argentines and Chilians; _Rou_ of the Tehuelches.)

During the whole course of our travels in Patagonia (save when in the forests) a day rarely passed without our seeing guanacos. They may be met within a few hours' ride of any settlement. The range of the guanaco extends all over the plains of Patagonia. In my experience they were most numerous in the _Cañadon_ Davis, in the neighbourhood of Bahia Camerones, and on the high basaltic tablelands to the south of Lake Buenos Aires. At the base of the Cordillera and in some of the river-valleys under the edge of the mountains, the range of the guanaco crosses that of the huemul. I do not think, however, that the guanacos ever enter the forest, although I have seen them in the open patches amongst the lower wooded parts of the Cordillera. As the seasons change they move from higher to lower ground, but these migrations are limited, and a white guanaco has been observed year after year in the same neighbourhood. During the time I spent at Lake Argentino--from February 1 to May 15--I saw but few of these animals, for at that season all the herds migrate to the high pampa. A herd four or five hundred strong inhabited the higher plateaus of Mount Frias.

FitzRoy, in his "Voyages of the _Adventure_ and the _Beagle_," writes, "Do the guanacos approach the river to drink when they are dying? or are the bones and remains of animals eaten by lions or by Indians? or are they washed together by floods? Certain it is that they are remarkably numerous near the banks of the river (Santa Cruz), but not so elsewhere." It is true that, although one comes upon skeletons of these animals upon the pampas, they are not crowded together as they are in the _cañadones_ of the rivers or by the lakes near water. At the edge of a lagoon at the eastern end of Mystery Plain I saw a great number of skeletons in one place, possibly the very ones noted by FitzRoy. They extended in a wide track down the hillside and to the edge of the water. At Lake Viedma the margins of the lake, near the outflow of the Leona, were covered with their skins and bones. The meaning of this I gathered from Mr. Ernest Cattle. He told me that in the winter of 1899 enormous numbers of guanaco sought Lake Argentino, and died of starvation upon its shores. In the severities of winter they seek drinking-places, where there are large masses of water likely to be unfrozen. The few last winters in Patagonia have been so severe as to work great havoc among the herds of guanaco.

At nightfall guanacos gather into close order, a large herd collecting in a small radius. They seem to choose open spaces in which to pass the hours of darkness. In moments of danger also they pack together densely. At the sound of a shot, the outlying members of a herd will close up and sway their long necks almost to the ground in unison. I see that Darwin says that guanaco are "generally very wild and wary." In places where they are hunted by the Indians this is undoubtedly the case, but on this point no law can be laid down. In some districts the guanaco is very difficult of approach, in others extremely easy. The evidence that I can adduce concerning this point I have given at length in another chapter. Their instinct of curiosity is very largely developed. During our wanderings I studied the habits of the guanaco with ever-increasing interest. In cold weather they become extraordinarily tame, and will permit a man to walk among them as a shepherd walks among his sheep.

The young are brought forth in the months of October, November and the early part of December. In Southern Patagonia some are born as late as the end of December. During the period of copulation the bucks fight a good deal. I never shot an old buck which was not seamed and scarred with the marks of these contests. When fighting they give vent to loud squeals of rage, they strike with their forefeet and bite savagely, mostly at the neck of the antagonist. The marks of these bites are often deep and long. The skin of the neck is luckily very thick, so little harm is done. As has been noted before, the guanacos drop all their dung in one spot, and near these spots their wallows are ordinarily to be found. I saw an old buck spend a long time over his toilette while his wives looked on and waited. He would spend nearly half an hour on his back with his legs in the air, at intervals standing up to neigh and then rolling again.

A guanaco descending a hillside is a truly wonderful sight. He proceeds in a succession of bounds, on landing from each of which he dips his head almost to touch his forefeet. The young guanaco keeps up with his elders over bad ground in an extraordinary way.

The power of affection in guanacos towards their young did not appear to me to be very strong. From time to time I had to shoot a young one for food. Out of nine instances which I find in my diary, only twice did the mother halt in her flight to see what had happened to her offspring. On both occasions she stopped within two hundred and fifty yards and stared towards me. If dogs enter into the chase the mother deserts to a greater distance. One day, when I with the dogs had killed a young guanaco, I left it lying and rode away with the dogs. Returning alone, I took up my quarters in the heart of a bush, from whence I observed the herd to which the mother belonged. They did not return nearer than a quarter of a mile to the spot. On another occasion when I shot a young guanaco and concealed myself for the same reason, the whole herd came back and, mounting an eminence in the neighbourhood, scanned the scene of the disaster. They did not, however, venture near the place where the quarry was lying. Curiously enough, wild cattle, though much more difficult of approach than guanaco, often come back in the night lowing and bellowing to visit the spot where a herd-mate has been killed, but before dawn they invariably leave that part of the forest.

The young guanaco is an easy quarry. We caught a considerable number of them for food with the aid of the hounds.

On one occasion a young one was simply headed off from the herd, its portrait taken, and then it was set free again.

No. 5. Patagonian cavy (_Dolichotis patagonica_).

(Called "cavy" or "hare" indiscriminately by the English residents; _liebre_ by the Argentines and Chilians; _Paahi_ by the Tehuelches.)

The River Deseado forms the southern limit of the distribution of the Patagonian cavy. In 1833 Darwin writes concerning this animal, "They are found as far north as the Sierra Tapalguen (lat. 37° 30´), and their southern limit is between Port Desire and San Julian, where there is no change in the nature of the country." As far as my experience goes, I never observed a cavy after October 23, upon which day I counted fourteen upon the pampa between Lake Musters and the settlement of Colohuapi. The residents of Colohuapi informed me that the place formed the southern limit of the distribution of the cavy. It is, of course, impossible to lay down an exact line, but I think it safe to say that the range of the cavy does not extend south of the 46th parallel. This limit is the more remarkable inasmuch as the country south of lat. 46° does not in any way materially differ from that over which the cavy is commonly to be met with. One most often finds these animals on patches of dry mud. They are comparatively easy to stalk, as easy as an English rabbit. The best method of shooting them is, of course, with the rifle, though occasionally you may start them from a thicket and shoot them as you would an English hare with a shot-gun. They generally weigh between 18 lb. and 25 lb., though I heard of one which I was assured weighed 31 lb.

The cavy will often lead the hounds a good chase, especially where the ground is broken, in such places frequently making its escape.

After being frightened it very soon makes its reappearance, and when it actually takes to flight it rarely goes more than a hundred yards before it turns to see whether it is an object of pursuit. This is only the case when man alone is the pursuer; when dogs are present there is no time to be lost in speculation of any kind.

No. 6. Armadillo (_Dasypus minutus_).

(_Pichy_ of the Argentines and Chilians; _Ano_ of the Tehuelches.)

This animal is never found south of the River Santa Cruz. During the four months I spent south of that river I did not see one, but when for three days we crossed to the north bank we met with four and killed one, as I have before mentioned. _Dasypus minutus_ is very common in the vicinity of Bahia Camerones. I saw no specimen in the forests of the Andes, but near Lake Buenos Aires and Lake Viedma we found them about the foothills.

No. 7. The Grey or Pampa Fox; _Zorro_ of the Argentines; _Paltñ_ of the Tehuelches.

To the east of the Andes, the pampa fox is to be met with practically everywhere. There are two varieties of foxes upon the pampa. The common pampa variety is a most inveterate thief, and causes endless trouble to travellers by eating all and anything that the wind may blow down from the bushes, upon which one's belongings are generally hung by way of guarding against their depredations. If a horse is _sogaed_ out with a _cabresto_ of hide, the foxes will very often gnaw through the _cabresto_ and set the horse free. This trick has cost the life of more than one Gaucho, who, travelling alone upon the pampa, in some district hundreds of miles away from human habitations, has been left quite helpless without his horse, unable to use his _bolas_ with effect on foot, and so has starved to death.

In my experience the range of the grey fox seems to cease at the foothills of the Cordillera, where the Magellan wolf (_Canis magellanicus_) is to be found. Of course, in making this statement I am open to correction. I can merely state that, during the time I spent at Lake Buenos Aires and Lake Argentino, I never saw a pampa fox, although evidences of their presence in the way of tracks were frequent, upon the north shore of the former lake. Yet directly one ascended the range of the hills towards the River Fenix, pampa foxes were to be seen. On the top of Mount Frias I saw a pampa fox in the snow. I never came upon the pampa fox in the forests which grow upon the slopes of the Cordillera.

The fearlessness of the grey pampa fox is remarkable, even in districts where it is chased by the Indians and their dogs. The pelts are much used for making _capas_ or fur cloaks. During the early part of January 1901, upon the pampa outside the Cordillera, we continually came upon half-grown pampa foxes in twos and threes. Until they saw the dogs they never took to flight.

No. 8. Cordillera Wolf (_Canis magellanicus_).

This is the animal locally known as the Cordillera fox. I have elsewhere touched upon its strongest characteristic of courage, and also the dread it inspires among horses. It is, of course, a much larger animal than the pampa fox, which latter can wander about among the troop without causing any disturbance. A single Cordillera wolf will attack young huemules as well as the young of the guanaco. Although found in the forest, this animal also frequents the plains at the foothills of the Cordillera. Personally I never observed it farther east than the River Fenix. In the one case that came under my observation, when sheep had been brought within its range, its depredations among them were considerable.

The measurements which I made of three of these animals were as follows: Female killed at the River Fenix, Lake Buenos Aires, thirty-nine inches; dog-wolf killed at the same place, forty-one inches; dog-wolf killed at the Lake Argentino, forty-one inches. These measurements were taken from the teeth to the end of the tail directly after the shooting of the animals.

When with young the Cordillera wolf, indeed I may say the Cordillera wolves, both male and female, will run growling towards man if he attempts to approach their litter. As far as could be judged from an examination of the lair of one, their bill of fare is very varied. There were the remains of many kinds of birds, as well as the bones of the young of guanaco and huemul.

There is another form of the wolf which I think should perhaps be considered as a sub-species under the name of _Canis montanus_. Its range is at present undefined. It is a red variety and lacks the dark markings of _Canis magellanicus_. I hope shortly to have a series of skins of this type. At present my readers can refer to the coloured plate "Camp Thieves," and the photograph on this page. Its general habits seem to be identical with those of _Canis magellanicus_.

No. 9. Skunk (_Conepatus patagonicus_).

(_Zorino_ of the Argentines; _wikster_ of the Tehuelches.)

The skunk is to be met with throughout the whole country, but we saw perhaps more specimens of this animal in the neighbourhood of Bahia Camerones than elsewhere. I have also observed it within ten miles of the foot of the Cordillera. The skins are much prized by the Indians for the making of _capas_.

Besides the animals enumerated above, an otter is common in most of the rivers, but as all the skins I collected have not arrived at the moment of writing, I will hold over any description of this animal until a later date.

FOOTNOTE:

[27] This chapter embodies a paper read before the Zoological Society of London on April 15, 1902, with some additional details.