The wildlife of Puerto Madryn is astounding, and one of its biggest draws is the fact that you can sometimes see orcas virtually beaching themselves in their hunt for sea lions and elephants seals.
Image taken from carnivoraforum.com
The peak season for this behaviour is March, but you might get lucky at other times too. We actually tool the tour on Boxing Day and our guide said they’d seen them the day before.
Despite our disappointment that we hadn’t seen a killer whale, there were plenty of other cool animals to take our mind off it.
WILDLIFE OF PUERTO MADRYN
PENGUINS
Everyone loves a penguin. I could have spent hours observing these cute little fellows waddling about awkwardly and pulling sullen expressions as they battled against the strong coastal winds.
RHEAS
Similar to ostriches, but apparently not related, these massive birds made a strange sight as they ambled over the rocky shore in a long line of follow the leader.
GUANACOS
Related to llamas, but not as cute, or as hairy, guanacos are another species that wouldn’t immediately spring to mind as you conjure up images of the sea side.
ARMADILLOS
We almost ran over this little chap in our jeep. I’ve never seen an armadillo in the wild. Apparently they’re quite rare now in Argentina because people used to track them down and eat them for dinner. I can’t imagine this one would feed many.
MARAS
This weird cross between a rabbit and a deer is another oddity of the Argentinian scrub lands.
ELEPHANT SEALS
This little elephant seal would be the picture of innocence if it wasn’t for the mass of congealed blood around his mouth. I still want to keep him.
MORAL OF THE STORY
I could have watched this little pup for hours. He would stretch, yawn (covering his mouth with his paw!), scratch his head and slump back down on the beach like life couldn’t have been tougher.
Even if you head there out of season, the wildlife of Puerto Madryn is intriguing and wonderful. Please don’t pass up on it just because those pesky killer whales are off navigating the Atlantic instead of slaughtering little furry pups like the one above!
well, you would have been pretty lucky to see them! but when they are in, they truly are a sight! I was in Puerto Madryn for southern right whale season (which usually starts in june, but we were there late may) and had the chance to watch a few from the shore. a wonderful sight…
good point of your article : there’s always some beautiful wildlife to see in Valdez Peninsula!
Cheers to the rest of the trip!
Les Petits Pas de Juls recently posted..(tricked) Phoneography Challenge : my Neighborhood
Yeah, I knew it wasn’t likely, but after the clouds covered Fitz Roy a few weeks earlier, I felt like I was owed one!! It was still an amazing place though. The penguins were my favourite!
Look at those eyes of the seal. Gorgeous! I saw lots of wildlife when I went to the Galapagos Islands a few years ago, but the penguins have a very special place in my heart. They are just so darn cute!
TammyOnTheMove recently posted..Flashback Friday: The time I thought I’d be eaten by a shark
Yeah, I loved the Galapagos too. Nothing will ever beat that experience, but the penguins were better in Puerto Madryn…
The seal is super cute! They’re like water-dogs and I really like dogs.
That last pic is hilarious “I’m sorry I have something stuck in my teeth”
I could have watched that seal all day. It was so entertaining. Every time it woke up it would do a proper stretch and yawn, just like a human :)
Wow, so much variety – I love seeing animals in the wild
Andrea recently posted..Seeking Orangutans On a Sumatran Jungle Trek
Me too! My two best travel experiences were a Galapagos cruise and Tanzanian safari. You can’t beat it!!
That elephant seal is adorable! But don’t go to SeaWorld again, that is a very bad place for animals :(
Ayngelina recently posted..Thriving on uncertainty
Ok. I promise! That was many, many years ago now. I was 11. I know better now :)
Shame about the whales but I love the seal and penguin pics, so cute!
Lucy recently posted..Just a drop: A port wine tasting in Porto
I know. I guess you can’t have it all. And maybe it wouldn’t have been so great to see one of those cute seals get eaten alive!
Seems like it was a successful trip for seeing lots of wildlife, nonetheless. Those seals are so cute… I’d like to cuddle one too, but I think it would have nothing to do with me.
Mary recently posted..Popes and Swiss Guards
I was actually surprised by how close we could get to these seal pups, but I think you’re right. A cuddle might have been a step too far… :)
awww, the elephant seal is so lovely! :)
Dream Holidays Guide recently posted..Timeless Rome : Ancient Sights
I think there’s a clear favourite out of the animals in this post!
So sorry you didn’t see the orcas, but it looks like you saw some amazing stuff anyway! The mara is so cute, and I’ve an animal I’ve never even heard of.
I’ve never seen elephant seal babies that close up, it’s funny that the elephant-like nose hasn’t developed yet. Did you see any of the adults? They are amazing creatures, and so big! They overwinter only about an hour from where I live here in CA so we try to go see them each year.
Cassie recently posted..Photographic Guide to the Galapagos
I hadn’t heard of a mara either. They definitely have some weird creatures over there! As for the elephant seals, there were a few adults about but none of them had the really big noses. I was a bit disappointed by that too, although whenever I’ve seen them on nature programmes they freaked me out!