Islotes de Puñihuil Natural Monument is a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Natural Monument A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as w ...

located southwest of

Ancud Ancud () is a city in southern Chile located in the northernmost part of the island and province of Chiloé, in Los Lagos Region. It is the second largest city of Chiloé Archipelago after Castro. The city was established in 1768 to function as ...

. It consists of three islets off the western coast of

Chiloé Island Chiloé Island (, , ), also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (''Isla Grande de Chiloé''), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the west coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern Chile, in the Los L ...

to the west and north of Puñihuil. The monument is notable for being the only known shared breeding site for Humboldt and Magellanic penguins. It is also a breeding area for other species, such as the red-legged cormorant and

kelp gull The kelp gull (''Larus dominicanus''), also known as the Dominican gull, is a gull that breeds on coasts and islands through much of the Southern Hemisphere. The nominate ''L. d. dominicanus'' is the subspecies found around South America, pa ...

. Other bird species residing in the area include the kelp goose and

Fuegian steamer duck The Fuegian steamer duck (''Tachyeres pteneres'') or the Magellanic flightless steamer duck, is a flightless duck native to South America. It belongs to the steamer duck genus ''Tachyeres''. It inhabits the rocky coasts and coastal islands from ...

Marine otter The marine otter (''Lontra felina'') is a rare and relatively unknown South American mammal of the weasel family (Mustelidae). The scientific name means "feline otter", and in Spanish, the marine otter is also often referred to as : "marine c ...

s also find refuge in this protected area. Following a 2007 study by the staff from

Alfaguara project The Alfaguara project is a marine life conservation project operated from Puñihuil in the northwest of Chiloé Island, the main island in the Chiloé Archipelago in southern Chile. "Alfaguara" was the name given to blue whales by Chilean whal ...

, which works on conserving

blue whale The blue whale (''Balaenoptera musculus'') is a marine mammal and a baleen whale. Reaching a maximum confirmed length of and weighing up to , it is the largest animal known ever to have existed. The blue whale's long and slender body can ...

s and the marine environment in the area, ecotourism boat operators agreed to work together as an association. They would reduce the number of penguin-watching trips to the islands so as to maximize net income. Plant species occurring in the islets include '' Fascicularia bicolor'' and '' Greigia sphacelata''.

References

External links

CONAF: Monumento Natural Islotes de Puñihuil
Natural monuments of Chile Protected areas of Los Lagos Region {{SouthAm-protected-area-stub