The Patagonian Foundation PO Box 29113 San Francisco, CA 94129 USA 1-888-570-1122 info@thepatagonianfoundation.org March 11, 2010
Foundation History Board of Directors About Patagonia Current Challenges Projects How to Help News and Updates FAQs English / Español Home		About Patagonia Ecological Significance of Patagonia There are a variety of distinctive species in Patagonia, including rheas, flamingos, guanacos, huemul (a Chilean deer), penguins, condors, and sea lions. Patagonia is also home to a great number of plants and animals which are found nowhere else on the planet, such as the pudu, a small deer approximately 13 inches tall. The northern region of Chilean Patagonia alone demonstrates Patagonia's ecological significance. Encompassing nearly 110,000 square kilometers, it currently has five million hectares of native forest, more than one million hectares of wetlands, and almost two million hectares of glaciers. This region contains the majority of Chile's native forests including two million hectares of ancient intact forests representing 23% of all ancient forests in Chile. In addition, due to the Malvinas current (which creates nutrient rich waters that encourage breeding and feeding aggregations of marine animals), the Argentinean coastal region of Patagonia contains some of the most outstanding harbors of biodiversity on the planet. Animals that live and breed there include southern elephant seals, wandering albatrosses, southern right whales, Magellanic, rockhopper and king penguins, southern sea lions, and South American and subantarctic fur seals. Ecological Significance | Geography | Photo Gallery 1 | 2 | 3 | 4