Protecting huemul subpopulations in the core of Cerro Castillo National Park: Control and reduction of domestic animals through collaborative work

“Las Horquetas” valley is a buffer area located in the heart of Cerro Castillo National Park and is a strategic area for the conservation of the Huemul deer (Hippocamelus bisulcus), one of the most endangered large land mammals on the IUCN Red List. In addition to acting as a biological corridor, Las Horquetas is a wintering area for huemul subpopulations and is, therefore, a key area for huemul monitoring by park rangers. This valley is also the gateway for visitors to the trail that leads to the hanging snowdrift, one of the most renowned treks in Chilean Patagonia. Before being acquired by the Tompkins Conservation Foundation (now Rewilding Chile) in 2019, the sector had livestock use, so we are currently in the process of transition due to this change in land use for conservation purposes. Since Las Horquetas valley is still being used by the neighbors as a cattle grazing area, this project seeks to control access of livestock and associated dogs to the National Park by working with neighboring farms and the surrounding community, in collaboration with the National Park Agency and the National Wildlife and Livestock Service. Cattle are a threat to the huemul as they compete and deteriorate the conditions of its habitat by browsing on shoots and plants, thus damaging the regeneration of the native forest and displacing this endangered deer to areas with less available food besides transmitting diseases that can be fatal. In addition, all the dogs detected in the sector have farmer-owners and enter the sector along with the livestock, displacing the huemul and being a source of diseases and parasites.