Las Chinchillas National Reserve is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

located in the

Choapa Province Choapa Province is one of the provinces making up the Coquimbo Region of Chile. It has an area of 10,079.8 km² and a population of 81,681. The capital of the province is the town of Illapel. Administration The current presidential provinci ...

Coquimbo Region The Coquimbo Region ( es, Región de Coquimbo, ) is one of Chile's 16 regions (first order administrative divisions). It is bordered by Atacama to the north, Valparaíso to the south, Argentina to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. The reserve gives shelter to some of the few remaining colonies of

Long-tailed Chinchilla The long-tailed chinchilla (''Chinchilla lanigera''), also called the Chilean, coastal, common, or lesser chinchilla, is one of two species of rodent from the genus '' Chinchilla'': the other species being '' C. chinchilla''. Both species are end ...

s in the wild.

Biology

In addition to the chinchillas, other small mammals (mainly rodents), two fox species and felines like the Puma inhabit the reserve and surrounding hills. Actually only about half of the wild chinchillas are located within the reserve boundaries. The other half live on private and communally owned lands. The reserve is home to a number of species of birds, including the

Chilean mockingbird The Chilean mockingbird (''Mimus thenca''), locally known as ''tenca'', is a species of bird in the family Mimidae. It primarily inhabits Chile's northern half, though there are sightings in Argentina. Taxonomy and systematics The Chilean mo ...

Chilean tinamou The Chilean tinamou (''Nothoprocta perdicaria'') is a type of tinamou commonly found in high altitude shrubland in subtropical regions of central Chile.Clements, J (2007) Taxonomy All tinamous are from the family Tinamidae, and in the larger sch ...

long-tailed meadowlark The long-tailed meadowlark (''Leistes loyca'') is a passerine bird of southern South America and the Falkland Islands, belonging to the meadowlark genus ''Leistes'' in the icterid family that looks very similar to the related endangered species, ...

moustached turca The moustached turca (''Pteroptochos megapodius'') is a passerine bird which is endemic to Chile. It belongs to the tapaculo group and is a member of the genus ''Pteroptochos'', along with the two species of Huet-huet. Description It is a stocky ...

and

Harris's hawk The Harris's hawk (''Parabuteo unicinctus''), formerly known as the bay-winged hawk, dusky hawk, and sometimes a wolf hawk, and known in Latin America as peuco, is a medium-large bird of prey that breeds from the southwestern United States south ...

. Owl species inhabiting the park include the

burrowing owl The burrowing owl (''Athene cunicularia''), also called the shoco, is a small, long-legged owl found throughout open landscapes of North and South America. Burrowing owls can be found in grasslands, rangelands, agricultural areas, deserts, or an ...

, austral pygmy-owl and

great horned owl The great horned owl (''Bubo virginianus''), also known as the tiger owl (originally derived from early naturalists' description as the "winged tiger" or "tiger of the air"), or the hoot owl, is a large owl native to the Americas. It is an extrem ...

. The Andean condor can also be seen in the area.

References

Reserva Nacional Las Chinchillas
National reserves of Chile Protected areas of Coquimbo Region {{SouthAm-protected-area-stub