• Category Archives chile
  • Museo de Historia Natural Rio Seco

    This was a small museum with local specimens. Interestingly they prepared birds in a unique way, with feathers still attached to wings. If that’s not your thing, here’s your warning it starts and will continue down a weird path.

    Here’s a flamingo.

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    A vulture.

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    Probably an albatross.

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    Here’s a seal jaw with teeth and you can see the extra spikes they have to help hold onto fish they catch.

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    Penguins look cute even as skeletons, but there are a bunch more coming later that were much more alive that these ones.

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    Lots of dolphins and whales get washed up in this area, so they have lots of skulls.

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    There are also many other local birds that they’ve posed in the rafters.

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    Some of them more in flight.

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    The local parrots also look unique in this preparation style.

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    Full skeletons take a lot more work to prepare, but they have some great preparations. Here’s a dolphin as whales have baleen, not teeth.

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    A majestic owl where you can see the full flight feathers splayed out.

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    It was a really cool experience seeing such a different presentation compared to what we normally see in natural history museums.

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    Another little dolphin.

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    Another vulture

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    Armadillo scales will preserve, and you can see all the hairs as well.

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    They do have a really large whale skeleton. It was a Sei whale, one of the third largest whales.

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    Being in a small place meant that you could get right up to the skeleton and right inside it essentially.

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    Here’s Matthew for scale next. His head would fit in the eye socket.

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    Here’s Kerri for scale next to a condor.

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  • Guanacos

    The guanacos are very skittish in Patagonia

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    But sometimes they still have to rest

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    They get back on their feet quickly though

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    In case there’s a cougar around.

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    Sometimes they need to roll

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    That makes them slower to get up

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    Sometimes they have babies

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    Kerri is going to show restraint with this baby

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    Because she’s two months behind on posting pictures

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    And most of the pictures of the baby look pretty much the same

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    But she’s so tiny

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    The guide thought she was probably born that day

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    And she needed a drink

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    The cougars better stay away.

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  • More Cougars

    Can you spot the cougar?

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    She can’t spot you.

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    Now she can.

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    But she’s not interested in you.

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    And there are no guanaco around.

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    So she’s bored.

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    Cougars kind of look funny when they’re yawning.

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    It’s the puffy eyelids

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    Which make them look scary most of the time.

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    They have very big paws.

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    The back ones are big too.

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    Their tongues are big too

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    Bet you can’t stick your’s up your nose.

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    They also have long whiskers.

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    And big ears.

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  • Why Did the Cougar Cross the Road?

    The cougar had a stretch

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    A big stretch

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    And a yawn

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    And walked up

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    Over the hill

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    But then an hour later we saw another cougar

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    Or possibly the same cougar, we can’t tell them apart.

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    She also went up the hill

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    But then she walked along the top for a bit.

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    Then came back down

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    Slinkily

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    To cross the road

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    Not caring who might be in her way

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    Even though she was a lot smaller than the cars.

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    She got to the other side.

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    And looked  around

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    In all directions

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    And went up and over that hill.

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  • More More More Cougar Pictures

    The cougar that was definitely not Hobbes wandered down the hill

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    And licked her nose again.

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    Really well.

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    She then continued her journey.

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    Lifting her right foot

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    And then her left.

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    Yes, you needed to see every step in this journey.

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    Even when she was trying to hide.

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    Every picture is important

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    Even when she’s not facing the camera

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    You have to get a good look at the tail

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    Because sometimes it is hidden.

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