The extremes of Patagonia are home to a great diversity of creatures, and we’re going to view them in a refreshingly fresh way.
Crews filmed for more than a year, uncovering species that were previously unknown to science and shooting secretive creatures for the first time. The six episodes examine the area’s glaciers, jungles, mountains, ice fields, oceans, deserts, and amazing animals settled in one of the most isolated locations on Earth.
Animal kingdom
Animals like the huemul and the kodkod, often known as “the ghost of the forest” and little wildcats that are so elusive that few people have even seen them, live in Patagonia. One of the world’s most endangered creatures is the South Andean deer.
Cold-water corals create colonies below the ocean’s surface that house other species and brilliant pods of orcas seek food, each of which a sage grandma matriarch commands.
The magnificent black-and-white water birds known as hooded grebes perform a tango-like courtship dance, which is critically endangered. The monito del monte is a little marsupial with an unexpected slowdown in breathing during hibernation that may provide information about human metabolism.
Dino-mite!
In Argentina’s northern Patagonia, paleontologists have discovered a hitherto undiscovered species of dinosaurs. The carnivore had excessively short limbs, like those of a T. rex, and it was 36 feet (11 meters) long and more than 4 tons in weight.
The predator from the Cretaceous period hunted and tore apart victims with the help of its vicious skull.
Researchers are still baffled by several aspects of the newly found dinosaur, such as why its tiny arms and chest muscles were so highly developed if they weren’t employed for hunting.
Amazing Creatures
The sky over the northernmost point of Argentina’s Patagonia desert coast appears to be filled with swirling clouds at first look. The formations are hordes of vibrant, gregarious parrots.
The biggest parrot colony in the world is located at El Cóndor, where burrowing parrots carve tunnels into the crumbling sandstone cliffs.
The friendly birds raise their babies on the mountainside with a picturesque view of the Atlantic Ocean, mating for life and being extremely friendly.
The burrowing parrot used to be widespread throughout South America. But as its food source declines due to deforestation, the population of the famous bird is decreasing.
Curiosities
It’s difficult to overlook a gigantic water lily hidden in plain sight for 177 years.
Botanists found a new species of a water lily at London’s Royal Botanic Gardens. The plant, named Victoria boliviana, is the biggest species of water lily ever discovered.
When growing naturally, the leaves may be about 10 feet broad (3 meters) and sustain at least 176 pounds (80 kilograms). So if you wish, you could sit or stand on the splayed leaves (and some have).
The entire world
Observe a nebula with amazing pink and purple hues in the night sky of Argentina, the northern lights reflected in a lake in Canada, and whirling gas clouds on the sun.
Some of the cosmic high points from the 2022 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition are included below.
The Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, conducted the competition, which included entries from photographers from 67 different nations.