Patagonia Wildlife: Best Times for Viewing Patagonia Animals

Patagonia is as unique as it is enormous; a place where chunks of ice as large as double-decker buses break off vast glaciers into the ocean below. It is an untamed wonderland home to some of the few remaining uninhabited places on Earth and ecosystems and habitats that are rife with wildlife. For adventurous travellers, it is no wonder that it always ranks highly as a once-in-a-lifetime destination to visit.

When to see Patagonian Marine Wildlife

Both the Atlantic coast in the east of Argentine Patagonia and the Pacific Ocean, which flows into the fjords in the west of Chile, are thriving hubs of marine wildlife. To see many of these animals, the summer and fall seasons are the best for visiting the colonies or taking a tour out onto the water.

Gentoo Penguin Visible: September to April Best locations to see them: Tierra del Fuego.   Magellanic Penguin Visible: September to May Best locations to see them: Chilean fjords, Chiloé Island, Peninsula Valdés, Magdalena Island and Tierra del Fuego.   King Penguin Visible: All year round Best locations to see them: Tierra del Fuego.   Humpback Whale Visible: December to May Best locations to see them: Chilean fjords.   Blue Whale Visible: December to May Best locations to see them: Chiloé Island.   Orca Visible: December, March and April Best locations to see them: Chilean Fjords (December) and Peninsula Valdés (March and April).   Southern Right Whale Visible: June to September Best locations to see them: Peninsula Valdés.

When to visit Patagonian Wildlife On Land

• At any time throughout the year, you’re likely to spot the wild cousin of the llama – the guanaco – grazing in the Patagonian grasslands or mountains.
• The elusive puma can be sighted in Tierra del Fuego and the Aisén Regions of Chile, particularly in Torres del Paine National Park.
• Andean condors soar through the skies in Torres del Paine and whole groups can be spied feasting upon guanacos.

The shy, endangered South Andean Deer or huemul also inhabits Torres del Paine and the Bernardo O’Higgins National Park on the border with Argentina. The latter region has a population of around 75 huemul, and it is believed that only around 15,000 individuals remain in the whole continent.