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Huemul, the endangered Andean deer of Patagonia

The huemul, which appears on Chile's coat of arms, survives in scattered groups in the Patagonian Andes from Aysén to Magallanes and in Argentine national parks.

According to the IUCN Red List, as cited in August 2026, 1,500 to 2,000 huemul remain in Chile and Argentina, about 1 percent of the original population. Threats include dogs, diseases from livestock, competition with cattle, poaching, fires and habitat fragmentation. In 2025 a young male named Newenche travelled more than 300 km from Chile's Huilo Huilo reserve to Lanín National Park, and in 2026 APN, CONICET and WCS Argentina tested thermal-imaging drones to monitor the species.

Species

Needs

• habitat
• anti-poaching

Who is helping

Organisations that, according to their own publications, work on this event (1). Donations go directly to each organisation's own website - GLOBURNS does not handle payments.

• Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
  WCS protects wildlife and wild places through field programmes worldwide and zoos in New York. In the DRC it supports Kahuzi-Biega National Park, the Okapi Wildlife…
  Donate on the organisation's website (secure.wcs.org)

Sources

• dialogue.earth dialogue.earth/en/nature/the-loneliest-deer-in-the-andes-reignites-rewilding-debates/
• noticiasambientales.com noticiasambientales.com/animals/the-huemul-at-risk-the-emblematic-chilean-animal-in-serio…
• laangosturadigital.com.ar laangosturadigital.com.ar/2026/08/04/utilizan-drones-con-camaras-termicas-para-proteger-a…
• neuqueninforma.gob.ar neuqueninforma.gob.ar/noticias/2025/12/18/253969-el-huemul-newenche-ya-esta-camino-al-ref…
• cambridge.org cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/detecting-an-increase-in-an-endangered-huemul-hi…

Seed record, before editorial verification. Every number links to its source; report errors on the Corrections page. Methodology · Corrections

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