A bonus during my South America trip was that I got to see some animals in the wild and a few in captivity. One of them was the coati or coatimundi which I already wrote about before. I got to see many of them in Iguassu Falls, mostly on the Brazil side but I also got to see one on the Argentina side.
I also previously wrote about seeing a couple of llamas in Machu Picchu.
We also got to see a guanaco in Patagonia. We saw it on the road near the El Calafate airport on our way home. It was the other people in our bus who pointed it out and told us what it was. Guanacos are camelids, related to llamas and alpacas. It is believed by many that llamas are the domestic version of guanacos but DNA tests seem to indicate that vicunas are the true ancestors of the llama.
While in Perito Moreno, we spotted a couple of caracaras, which are birds of prey related to falcons.
I believe that we also saw black vultures in Rio de Janeiro, although I can't be completely sure if they were indeed vultures. I asked our guide in Rio what birds they were and she told us they could be cormorants but when I looked up images of cormorants in flight online, they didn't look like the birds I took photos of in Rio. Our guide in Iguazu mentioned that there are many vultures in Rio and the online images of black vultures in flight more closely match the birds we saw. If you search online, there are many articles about the large number of vultures in Brazil so maybe these birds were indeed black vultures.
I also saw what I think is a plush-crested jay in Iguazu Falls. I don't know what species of bird this was but a quick search online for birds in Iguazu showed images of plush-crested jays that look very much like the birds I saw.
I also saw this bird on top of a sculpture in La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires.
Apart from all these animals in their natural habitats, we also saw some in captivity. In the Centro Cultural Parwa place in Chinchero, we got to see and feed a few camelids, including alpacas,
llamas,
and vicunas.
We also got to see a tapir on the riverbanks of Iguazu River on the Argentina side. We were on the train in Iguazu when we spotted it. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera in hand because it was raining and I set aside my cameras and my phone so they wouldn't get wet. As such, I wasn't able to take a picture of the tapir but it was pretty cool to see one in the wild.
Next: South American Food and Drinks
I also previously wrote about seeing a couple of llamas in Machu Picchu.
We also got to see a guanaco in Patagonia. We saw it on the road near the El Calafate airport on our way home. It was the other people in our bus who pointed it out and told us what it was. Guanacos are camelids, related to llamas and alpacas. It is believed by many that llamas are the domestic version of guanacos but DNA tests seem to indicate that vicunas are the true ancestors of the llama.
While in Perito Moreno, we spotted a couple of caracaras, which are birds of prey related to falcons.
I believe that we also saw black vultures in Rio de Janeiro, although I can't be completely sure if they were indeed vultures. I asked our guide in Rio what birds they were and she told us they could be cormorants but when I looked up images of cormorants in flight online, they didn't look like the birds I took photos of in Rio. Our guide in Iguazu mentioned that there are many vultures in Rio and the online images of black vultures in flight more closely match the birds we saw. If you search online, there are many articles about the large number of vultures in Brazil so maybe these birds were indeed black vultures.
I also saw what I think is a plush-crested jay in Iguazu Falls. I don't know what species of bird this was but a quick search online for birds in Iguazu showed images of plush-crested jays that look very much like the birds I saw.
I also saw this bird on top of a sculpture in La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires.
Apart from all these animals in their natural habitats, we also saw some in captivity. In the Centro Cultural Parwa place in Chinchero, we got to see and feed a few camelids, including alpacas,
llamas,
and vicunas.
We also got to see a tapir on the riverbanks of Iguazu River on the Argentina side. We were on the train in Iguazu when we spotted it. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera in hand because it was raining and I set aside my cameras and my phone so they wouldn't get wet. As such, I wasn't able to take a picture of the tapir but it was pretty cool to see one in the wild.
Next: South American Food and Drinks
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