Dogs at this year’s shearing. Outside the season, gauchos may go weeks without seeing a person. Credit Tomas Munita for The New York Times
I am reminded of the 2008-2010 period of my life, which was spent mostly in Patagonia; some of it was in Tierra del Fuego. These photos, from an article in today’s New York Times, show that this newspaper is adapting.
Horses, like these from Estancia Por Fin, help gauchos with shepherding sheep. Credit Tomas Munita for The New York Times
Yesterday, I wrote a bit about a book I once read and how it related to the case of the introduction of the small Indian mongoose to Jamaica to try and control a rat problem. The situation of accidentally transporting a species onto an island (or a separate continent, which often amounts the same thing), realizing the mistake when the species causes problems with the local flora or fauna, and introducing a second species to try to control the first, only to have the second species cause its own more serious issues, is a fairly common one around the planet, although Australia seems to be particularly vulnerable (look up rabbits and toads).
The case I wanted to write about today is an example of purposeful introduction of a species for human gain, but which was not properly researched beforehand and caused severe ecological damage that is still incompletely mitigated today.
Today I’ll cover the beavers in southern Chile and Argentina. The story I had originally heard, several years ago when I was Continue reading
Beaver damage
As someone who enjoys the outdoors and the wonderful silence that nature provides, I have recently begun to feel the emotional effects of being surrounded by metal and concrete. I, along with millions of others, am living in Buenos Aires and I am counting the days (8) until I have the opportunity to leave the city and enjoy the serenity of grass and the ability to see the stars. Recently I have had the good fortune of being asked to do some exhibitions of my work including many of the photos that I took while down in Patagonia.
Organikos 