Woundrous Wetland, Crucial Currents
A journey on Chile´s Cruces River reveals a long-protected sanctuary where tranquil waters may meet a disturbing future.
Text and photos © Ricardo Carrasco.
The serpentine tongue of the Cruces River becomes visible from the air a few minutes after take-off from the city of Valdivia. At first glance it appears lifeless, only a dismembered extension of flooded marshlands. But as you move closer, the crisp, clean air that precedes the characteristic southern rainstorms allows a clear view of the life in these great wetlands. Details appear slowly. If you look closely, you can see hundreds of black-necked swans, small white spots on the water. Herons cross from one shore to another in sleepy flight, stopping occasionally to rest on a branch. A rowboat from the village of Punucapa etches a fine trail through the placid water.
The Cruces River Nature Sanctuary, or Carlos Anwandter Sanctuary, is fifteen miles long and just over a mile wide, with a total surface area of more than twelve thousand acres. Over the years it has become refuge for more than ninety species of birds, numerous mammals, fish, and insects, and an impressive number of colourful wildflowers. Native forest is still untouched in some areas.
The site of ocean deposits and sediments since the Tertiary Period, the Cruces River basin has a temperate, warm climate, with a dry season of less than
four months, making it an ideal place for many aquatic birds. Precipitation levels can reach nearly eighty inches a year. May, June, and July are the wettest months, making the winter seem interminable and the arrival of spring a blessing.
As I snap some photos through the window of the small plane, the pilot mentions that the last time he flew over the area on what was otherwise a completely clear day, he had gotten lost for a few minutes in a dense layer of clouds formed by evaporation from the Valdivian rain forest. These clouds penetrate the inner valleys, crouching low around Oncol Peak, the highest peak of the coastal mountain range at 2.460 feet above sea level. In the Mapuche language oncol means steep mountain, and the rain forest here is home to a wealth of trees, like the giant coigues, robles, maitenes, olivillos, ulmos, lumas, pitras and arrayanes, to name just a few.
But the diversity of fauna is best appreciated from the water, and a kayak is ideal for moving smoothly and silently
among the abundant aquatic plants. We set out from the historic San Luis de Alba Fort−two hours north of the city of Valdivia. It turns out to be a good place to begin our journey. Leaving the fort behind, we paddle through a narrow corridor lined by willows. The soft current takes us slowly toward the place where the Cruces meets the Calle-Calle River, about thirty miles downstream. Swan feathers drift over the blue surface of the water. The profound silence takes a while to get used to. Butterflies flutter on the banks among thousands of wildflowers, coming out as if to greet passersby and then disappearing among the willows.
One of the most common butterflies found among the sanctuary´s flowers is (Colias vauthieri). They decorate the landscape with their joyous colors, the male shows bright orange wings and the female greenish white. They prefer flatlands and tend to visit wild plants like the lion´s tooth. They can also be found in alfalfa fields. In the sanctuary´s meadows you can easily observe the playful courtship that makes them the most common lepidopteran insects in Chile.
The zigzagging flight of the (Ahesna diffinis), better known as the dragonfly, is another frequent sight. This insect of
Paleozoic origin appeared on earth 250 million years ago and has barely changed its form and structure since then. Since its wings do not fold over its body and its feet point forward, it is unable to walk and only able to grasp smaller branches. The butterfly is adapted for catching and eating its prey in full flight. The females, a dull green color, usually hide in vegetation along the sanctuary´s waterways. Their suitors approach them in a search-and-find mode, flying over and over the same area. Any female that flies by will be pursued by a male, attempting to grab her firmly behind the head with the pincers located on the end of his abdomen. The male that finds a mate will stay with her after copulation until she deposits her eggs in the water, initiating in this way, a new generation of aquatic nymphs. After a year or two, they become the new aerial population.
Bees, on the other hand, can´t usually be seen, but you can sense their presence in large swarms in the brush. Local people extract delicious honey from the ulmo (Eucryphia cordifolia), a native tree that grows primarily in areas of high humidity.
We return to our kayaks, and suddenly a cool breeze raises up small waves that put an end to the tranquility. We have to paddle more vigorously
to maintain our course, but it´s a south wind, which brings good weather. The landscape also changes from here on. The river widens, and we leave the narrow fluvial corridor behind. Thousands of half-sunken tree trunks emerge from the water, giving the place an eerie feeling. They are a reminder of the 1960 earthquake −one of the world´s largest, at a 9.5 magnitude −which flooded enormous areas of land. The emerging trunks are mute witnesses to the fact that cattle grazing lands existed here years ago. Now they are eroded by time and serve as resting places for passing birds like the white-necked heron (Ardea cocoi), which sits immobile, stretching out its long neck like an arrow, waiting patiently for a fish.
The sanctuary is home to Chile´s largest reproductive colony of this magnificent bird. The white-necked heron is accompanied by the white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) and the snowy-crowned tern (Sterna trudeaui), both endangered species. The coscoroba swan (Coscoroba coscoroba) is another surprise. Nine individuals have stayed in the area for at least three seasons, giving experts hope that they will stay permanently.
A south wind pushes us towards the bulrushes (Scirpus californicus) that are so abundant in the Cruces. There, in the quiet cloak of aquatic vegetation is a many-colored rush-tyrant (Tachuris rubrigastra). Known in Spanish as the siete-colores, or seven-colors, the rush-tyrant is a small marsh bird that builds its nest among the bulrushes and seems to fracture light like a diamond.
This protected area has also become habitat for the southern river otter (Lutra provocax). It only allows rare glimpses of itself since humans have hunted it nearly into extinction.
A white band appears on the blue horizon like a mirage: slowly hundreds of black-necked swans (Cygnus melanocorypha) come into view. They swim
over a floating seaweed that they like to feed on and a huge profusion of white water-lily. Several reproducing bird colonies have also established themselves in the area, the black-necked swans being among the most numerous, with as many as 250 nests in the northern part of the sanctuary.
In the summer of 1990, the number of black-necked swans in the area suddenly jumped to seven thousand, up from the typical average of two thousand. This attracted the attention of experts who estimated that approximately four thousand of the birds had come into the sanctuary from Argentina because of a massive drought in the southern cone area. As the years have gone by, the swans have returned to their original habitats. Higher numbers of swans are seen in the summer and early fall when water levels begin to drop significantly. The Cruces River Nature Sanctuary still has the largest known reproductive colony of these swans in Chile.
Red-gartered coots (Fulica armillata) have also found the sanctuary to their liking, breaking the silence of the waters with noisy races among their nests. The last survey showed nearly ten thousand individuals.
We continue our journey. The wind has suddenly kicked up waves over a foot high, forcing us to paddle on the edge of
the flow to keep from getting soaked and to look for a place to spend the night. It is dusk by the time we are on land, and as we set up camp our lights attract the attention of some night insects; my own is drawn to some nocturnal butterflies alit on ferns near my tent.
The next day, we keep paddling and encounter a curious South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens) just a few feet from our kayak- snorting air in and out on the surface of the water- an unusual site, since these mammals don´t usually come this far upstream. We continue exploring riverbends and bulrushes. We visit a colony of hundreds of neotropic cormorants (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) who, along with some cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis), have found a good refuge here from located predators like the South American grey fox (Dusicyon griseus) and the puma (Felis concolor), both of which are protected by the National Forest Corporation (CONAF) but have been greatly reduced in number by local farmers who see them as a threat to their livestock.
An extraordinarily curious marsupial, which we almost forgot, appears as well: the “little mountain monkey”
(Dromiciops australis). The pudu (Pudu pudu), the smallest deer in the world, is another inhabitant of the reserve. Its small size and inability to speed away from its prey, however, has made it a favorite catch of pumas and kodkods (Felis guigna). Today, dogs introduced to the area are the pudus´ newest nightmare, but humans, who hunt them for their fine pelt and excellent meat, have turned this delicate creature into the scarcest and most difficult to observe animal in the area.
Over twenty years ago, the Chilean government declared this area a sanctuary, ratifying the RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands in 1981. By a presidential decree, the sanctuary became Chile´s only protected wetlands area and the first protected temperate area of the southern hemisphere, helping it to gain additional international recognition as one of South America´s premier wetlands ecosystems. In spite of these protections, however, the Cruces River Nature Sanctuary is currently facing a crisis.
According to Terram (the Foundation for the Promotion of Sustainable Development), a Chilean nongovernmental organization
based in Santiago, the sanctuary is in danger from the recent construction of a giant pulp plant on the upper Cruces, less than fifteen miles upstream. While some negative effects are already present −noise and an offensive odor thirty miles away− when it is in full production, the factory will extract a significant volume of water from the river, which means that during summer or periods of drought the marshlands will be dramatically affected along with the nesting places of many species. Though a tertiary treatment plant is being considered for the waste and residuals emptied back into the river, water temperature will also play a fundamental role. Oxygen levels in the water are likely to drop, with disastrous consequences for the local fauna.
Replacing the Valdivian rain forest with monocrops of pine and eucalyptus (both raw materials for making pulp) not only brings concern for the aesthetics of the area, but also causes serious problems for the stability of life in the wetlands. As trees are cut and transported with heavy machinery, an increase of sediment and mud runoff can be expected. Lowering evaporation levels and consequent changes in vegetation are both of serious concern, as are factory discharges into the river.
The Cruces River wetlands, and the Nature Sanctuary in particular, possess a biological diversity and productivity
unique to the region: a place for refuge and nesting for an enormous variety of flora and fauna, including migratory birds.
Up ahead in the distance, to the south, I can make out some of the tallest buildings of Valdivia, where the Cruces meets the Calle-Calle. But here, as the afternoon fades and the temperatures descend, Chilean swallows (Tachycineta meyeni) skim over the waters in search of distracted insects and perch by the dozens on little sticks that emerge from the water, enjoying their dinner or preening. As the sun hides itself in the mountain mist, I hear the mournful cry of the grebes and coots on their way to their nests.
This trip into the Carlos Anwandter Nature Sanctuary, an estuary by the city of Valdivia in Chile and one of South America's most biologically outstanding wetlands, took place before the ecological disaster that devastated the area in 2005.
For a photo gallery and the Spanish language version of this article please visit Ricardo Carrasco's official website, rcsphoto.net. To inquire about publishing rights please contact us.
Text and photos © Ricardo Carrasco. The serpentine tongue of the Cruces River becomes visible from the air a few minutes after take-off from the city of Valdivia. At first glance it appears lifeless, only a dismembered extension of flooded marshlands. But as you move closer, the crisp, clean air that precedes the characteristic southern rainstorms allows a clear view of the life in these great wetlands. Details appear slowly. If you look closely, you can see hundreds of black-necked swans, small white spots on the water. Herons cross from one shore to another in sleepy flight, stopping occasionally to rest on a branch. A rowboat from the village of Punucapa etches a fine trail through the placid water.
The Cruces River Nature Sanctuary, or Carlos Anwandter Sanctuary, is fifteen miles long and just over a mile wide, with a total surface area of more than twelve thousand acres. Over the years it has become refuge for more than ninety species of birds, numerous mammals, fish, and insects, and an impressive number of colourful wildflowers. Native forest is still untouched in some areas.
The site of ocean deposits and sediments since the Tertiary Period, the Cruces River basin has a temperate, warm climate, with a dry season of less than
four months, making it an ideal place for many aquatic birds. Precipitation levels can reach nearly eighty inches a year. May, June, and July are the wettest months, making the winter seem interminable and the arrival of spring a blessing.As I snap some photos through the window of the small plane, the pilot mentions that the last time he flew over the area on what was otherwise a completely clear day, he had gotten lost for a few minutes in a dense layer of clouds formed by evaporation from the Valdivian rain forest. These clouds penetrate the inner valleys, crouching low around Oncol Peak, the highest peak of the coastal mountain range at 2.460 feet above sea level. In the Mapuche language oncol means steep mountain, and the rain forest here is home to a wealth of trees, like the giant coigues, robles, maitenes, olivillos, ulmos, lumas, pitras and arrayanes, to name just a few.
But the diversity of fauna is best appreciated from the water, and a kayak is ideal for moving smoothly and silently
among the abundant aquatic plants. We set out from the historic San Luis de Alba Fort−two hours north of the city of Valdivia. It turns out to be a good place to begin our journey. Leaving the fort behind, we paddle through a narrow corridor lined by willows. The soft current takes us slowly toward the place where the Cruces meets the Calle-Calle River, about thirty miles downstream. Swan feathers drift over the blue surface of the water. The profound silence takes a while to get used to. Butterflies flutter on the banks among thousands of wildflowers, coming out as if to greet passersby and then disappearing among the willows.One of the most common butterflies found among the sanctuary´s flowers is (Colias vauthieri). They decorate the landscape with their joyous colors, the male shows bright orange wings and the female greenish white. They prefer flatlands and tend to visit wild plants like the lion´s tooth. They can also be found in alfalfa fields. In the sanctuary´s meadows you can easily observe the playful courtship that makes them the most common lepidopteran insects in Chile.
The zigzagging flight of the (Ahesna diffinis), better known as the dragonfly, is another frequent sight. This insect of
Paleozoic origin appeared on earth 250 million years ago and has barely changed its form and structure since then. Since its wings do not fold over its body and its feet point forward, it is unable to walk and only able to grasp smaller branches. The butterfly is adapted for catching and eating its prey in full flight. The females, a dull green color, usually hide in vegetation along the sanctuary´s waterways. Their suitors approach them in a search-and-find mode, flying over and over the same area. Any female that flies by will be pursued by a male, attempting to grab her firmly behind the head with the pincers located on the end of his abdomen. The male that finds a mate will stay with her after copulation until she deposits her eggs in the water, initiating in this way, a new generation of aquatic nymphs. After a year or two, they become the new aerial population.Bees, on the other hand, can´t usually be seen, but you can sense their presence in large swarms in the brush. Local people extract delicious honey from the ulmo (Eucryphia cordifolia), a native tree that grows primarily in areas of high humidity.
We return to our kayaks, and suddenly a cool breeze raises up small waves that put an end to the tranquility. We have to paddle more vigorously
to maintain our course, but it´s a south wind, which brings good weather. The landscape also changes from here on. The river widens, and we leave the narrow fluvial corridor behind. Thousands of half-sunken tree trunks emerge from the water, giving the place an eerie feeling. They are a reminder of the 1960 earthquake −one of the world´s largest, at a 9.5 magnitude −which flooded enormous areas of land. The emerging trunks are mute witnesses to the fact that cattle grazing lands existed here years ago. Now they are eroded by time and serve as resting places for passing birds like the white-necked heron (Ardea cocoi), which sits immobile, stretching out its long neck like an arrow, waiting patiently for a fish.The sanctuary is home to Chile´s largest reproductive colony of this magnificent bird. The white-necked heron is accompanied by the white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) and the snowy-crowned tern (Sterna trudeaui), both endangered species. The coscoroba swan (Coscoroba coscoroba) is another surprise. Nine individuals have stayed in the area for at least three seasons, giving experts hope that they will stay permanently.
A south wind pushes us towards the bulrushes (Scirpus californicus) that are so abundant in the Cruces. There, in the quiet cloak of aquatic vegetation is a many-colored rush-tyrant (Tachuris rubrigastra). Known in Spanish as the siete-colores, or seven-colors, the rush-tyrant is a small marsh bird that builds its nest among the bulrushes and seems to fracture light like a diamond.
This protected area has also become habitat for the southern river otter (Lutra provocax). It only allows rare glimpses of itself since humans have hunted it nearly into extinction.
A white band appears on the blue horizon like a mirage: slowly hundreds of black-necked swans (Cygnus melanocorypha) come into view. They swim
over a floating seaweed that they like to feed on and a huge profusion of white water-lily. Several reproducing bird colonies have also established themselves in the area, the black-necked swans being among the most numerous, with as many as 250 nests in the northern part of the sanctuary.In the summer of 1990, the number of black-necked swans in the area suddenly jumped to seven thousand, up from the typical average of two thousand. This attracted the attention of experts who estimated that approximately four thousand of the birds had come into the sanctuary from Argentina because of a massive drought in the southern cone area. As the years have gone by, the swans have returned to their original habitats. Higher numbers of swans are seen in the summer and early fall when water levels begin to drop significantly. The Cruces River Nature Sanctuary still has the largest known reproductive colony of these swans in Chile.
Red-gartered coots (Fulica armillata) have also found the sanctuary to their liking, breaking the silence of the waters with noisy races among their nests. The last survey showed nearly ten thousand individuals.
We continue our journey. The wind has suddenly kicked up waves over a foot high, forcing us to paddle on the edge of
the flow to keep from getting soaked and to look for a place to spend the night. It is dusk by the time we are on land, and as we set up camp our lights attract the attention of some night insects; my own is drawn to some nocturnal butterflies alit on ferns near my tent.The next day, we keep paddling and encounter a curious South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens) just a few feet from our kayak- snorting air in and out on the surface of the water- an unusual site, since these mammals don´t usually come this far upstream. We continue exploring riverbends and bulrushes. We visit a colony of hundreds of neotropic cormorants (Phalacrocorax brasilianus) who, along with some cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis), have found a good refuge here from located predators like the South American grey fox (Dusicyon griseus) and the puma (Felis concolor), both of which are protected by the National Forest Corporation (CONAF) but have been greatly reduced in number by local farmers who see them as a threat to their livestock.
An extraordinarily curious marsupial, which we almost forgot, appears as well: the “little mountain monkey”
(Dromiciops australis). The pudu (Pudu pudu), the smallest deer in the world, is another inhabitant of the reserve. Its small size and inability to speed away from its prey, however, has made it a favorite catch of pumas and kodkods (Felis guigna). Today, dogs introduced to the area are the pudus´ newest nightmare, but humans, who hunt them for their fine pelt and excellent meat, have turned this delicate creature into the scarcest and most difficult to observe animal in the area.Over twenty years ago, the Chilean government declared this area a sanctuary, ratifying the RAMSAR Convention on Wetlands in 1981. By a presidential decree, the sanctuary became Chile´s only protected wetlands area and the first protected temperate area of the southern hemisphere, helping it to gain additional international recognition as one of South America´s premier wetlands ecosystems. In spite of these protections, however, the Cruces River Nature Sanctuary is currently facing a crisis.
According to Terram (the Foundation for the Promotion of Sustainable Development), a Chilean nongovernmental organization
based in Santiago, the sanctuary is in danger from the recent construction of a giant pulp plant on the upper Cruces, less than fifteen miles upstream. While some negative effects are already present −noise and an offensive odor thirty miles away− when it is in full production, the factory will extract a significant volume of water from the river, which means that during summer or periods of drought the marshlands will be dramatically affected along with the nesting places of many species. Though a tertiary treatment plant is being considered for the waste and residuals emptied back into the river, water temperature will also play a fundamental role. Oxygen levels in the water are likely to drop, with disastrous consequences for the local fauna.Replacing the Valdivian rain forest with monocrops of pine and eucalyptus (both raw materials for making pulp) not only brings concern for the aesthetics of the area, but also causes serious problems for the stability of life in the wetlands. As trees are cut and transported with heavy machinery, an increase of sediment and mud runoff can be expected. Lowering evaporation levels and consequent changes in vegetation are both of serious concern, as are factory discharges into the river.
The Cruces River wetlands, and the Nature Sanctuary in particular, possess a biological diversity and productivity
unique to the region: a place for refuge and nesting for an enormous variety of flora and fauna, including migratory birds.Up ahead in the distance, to the south, I can make out some of the tallest buildings of Valdivia, where the Cruces meets the Calle-Calle. But here, as the afternoon fades and the temperatures descend, Chilean swallows (Tachycineta meyeni) skim over the waters in search of distracted insects and perch by the dozens on little sticks that emerge from the water, enjoying their dinner or preening. As the sun hides itself in the mountain mist, I hear the mournful cry of the grebes and coots on their way to their nests.
This trip into the Carlos Anwandter Nature Sanctuary, an estuary by the city of Valdivia in Chile and one of South America's most biologically outstanding wetlands, took place before the ecological disaster that devastated the area in 2005.
For a photo gallery and the Spanish language version of this article please visit Ricardo Carrasco's official website, rcsphoto.net. To inquire about publishing rights please contact us.
posted by canbiz at 11:40 AM
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