A group of guanacos was released in the El Impenetrable National Park (Chaco), where the species had been extinct for more than 110 years. The individuals come from the Patagonia Park (Santa Cruz) and their 3,200 km overland transfer constitutes the longest wildlife translocation for conservation purposes ever conducted in the world.
The return of this large herbivore to the Dry Chaco will not only contribute to the ecosystem’s recovery but also adds an attraction for nature tourism, based on wildlife watching.
An integral ecological restoration project
El Impenetrable is the setting for a unique project that seeks to recover native species and restore the ecosystem’s functioning.
The reintroduction initiatives of the yabotí tortoise, the jaguar, and the giant otter are now joined by the guanaco, thanks to the joint work of Rewilding Argentina, the National Parks Administration, and the provinces of Chaco and Santa Cruz.
The guanaco in Chaco’s culture and landscape
Known as Nawananga by the Qom, Lu’hüt by the Wichís, and Guasukaka by the Guaraníes, the guanaco used to inhabit the open grasslands and savannas of the Dry Chaco.
The Qom informant Montiel Romero recalls:
“Nawananga is what we call the guanaco in Kom Lattaka (Toba language). In ancient times, there were nawananga all over the Chaco. Since the whites came, they have disappeared in the Chaco.”
Hunting, loss of grasslands, the advance of livestock farming, and the misuse of fire led to the local extinction of the species, which today survives with only 100 individuals on the border between Paraguay and Bolivia.
Preparation and historic transfer
The released guanacos come from Patagonia Park, where Rewilding Argentina, with the support of the Freyja Foundation, conducts population, health, and genetic studies to identify suitable source populations for reintroduction.
The 3,200 km transfer from Santa Cruz to Chaco required the development of herding, capture, and transport techniques, as well as the construction of pre-release corrals and a special trailer for groups of individuals.
Once in El Impenetrable, the guanacos remained in adaptation corrals, where the first chulengos were born and began to incorporate native plants into their diet.
Essential ecological functions
Defaunation in El Impenetrable led to the disappearance of the guanaco and other large herbivores like the pampas deer and the marsh deer, which fulfill key functions:
- Shape landscapes through grazing.
- Promote plant diversity.
- Reduce fires by consuming dry vegetation.
- Redistribute nutrients, seeds, and carbon.
- Support trophic networks as prey and food for scavengers.
The absence of these species degraded the ecosystems, as their functions cannot be replaced by smaller herbivores.
Impact on conservation and tourism
The return of the guanaco will favor the ecological recovery of the Dry Chaco. The National Parks Administration, the Province of Chaco, and Rewilding Argentina, with the support of local communities, plan to release more individuals to reconstitute healthy populations.
Additionally, the opportunity to observe this large mammal adds as an attraction for nature tourism, a growing activity in El Impenetrable that already generates new development opportunities for local families.
The reintroduction of the guanaco in El Impenetrable represents a historic conservation milestone in Argentina. This effort demonstrates that collaboration between institutions, communities, and organizations can reverse defaunation processes and restore degraded ecosystems while promoting sustainable tourism and strengthening the region’s cultural identity.
