{"id":116,"date":"2021-09-12T19:02:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-12T19:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nobleprensa.com\/?p=116"},"modified":"2026-06-30T17:27:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T17:27:44","slug":"la-amenaza-de-las-especies-exoticas-invasoras-en-chile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nobleprensa.com\/en\/la-amenaza-de-las-especies-exoticas-invasoras-en-chile\/","title":{"rendered":"The threat of invasive alien species in Chile"},"content":{"rendered":"

Camouflaged amidst native nature, invasive alien species (insects, plants, animals, etc.) are one of the leading causes of the reduction of native flora and fauna in Chile. Their advance is such that today they are almost impossible to eliminate. Beavers, pines, minks, salmon, and even irresponsibly owned pets like dogs and cats are among them.<\/strong>
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his report was one of nine shortlisted nationwide for the 2021 University Excellence Journalism Award<\/strong> <\/a>from Alberto Hurtado University<\/strong>, serving as recognition that invasive alien species are a serious problem in the country. I am deeply grateful for the support and time of everyone involved. This article was originally written in Spanish and translated into English with the help of AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claudio Flores sat on one of the thousands of lengas\u2014a tree also known as the Tierra del Fuego beech\u2014lying dead along the riverbank. He had traveled for hours to hunt down the culprit behind the destruction of over 20,000 hectares of Fuegian forest. As he watched the dam built by the animal he was preparing to kill, he noticed movement in the water: a beaver. \"It was beautiful,\" he recalls. Beautiful and huge\u2014likely weighing over 20 kilos. He aimed at the rodent's head peeking out of the water, and a burst of 15 pellets fired from his air rifle. The carcass drifted away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While it might seem cruel, Claudio believes an effective shot is far more merciful than the traps implemented by the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG). Accustomed to hunting pest animals like beavers and rabbits, Flores feels that his work helps the environment, despite occasional criticism from animal rights activists. \"They are contradictory,\" he argues, \"because how much wildlife dies when we don't control these species?\"\n\nFor this reason, experts like Fabi\u00e1n Jaksic\u2014a Chilean biologist and National Science Prize winner\u2014value the work of hunters like Claudio. \"The beaver is not only interfering with the fauna of Tierra del Fuego; it is wiping out lenga forests and turning them into swamps full of dead trees,\" the expert explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Claudio is so convinced of the service he provides that he even records videos of his hunts and uploads them to his YouTube channel, Patagonia Airguns Chile, which has over 170 videos and more than 33,000 subscribers. The videos gathering the most positive comments (mostly congratulations) and likes <\/em>(over 3,000) are those where Claudio showcases his hunting skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the efforts of the hunter from Punta Aren are in vain. There is no certainty regarding the exact number of beavers in Chile, but the GEF Beavers Initiative and the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), through its National Species Inventory, estimate that there could be between 65,000 and 250,000 of them, mainly on Isla Grande in Tierra del Fuego. Although the SAG has developed pilot control projects, and there is an agreement between Chile and Argentina to exterminate the beaver, experts say that the best outcome that can be achieved is to halt their population growth and prevent their northward expansion. \u201cWe have to consider Tierra del Fuego a lost cause and defend the Magellanic mainland,\u201d says Fabi\u00e1n, referring to the beaver\u2019s ability to destroy entire ecosystems. \u201cWe have very few successes in eradicating invasive alien species in Chile, and those have been on small islands: Santa Clara Island, the Juan Fern\u00e1ndez Archipelago, and Humboldt Penguin Island. Tierra del Fuego is a giant island. There\u2019s no chance of eliminating the beavers from there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To this is added the beaver's massive economic impact: $60 million USD, partly stemming from losses in livestock production\u2014since beaver dams flood grazing lands\u2014and forest loss, as the rodents fell native trees to build dams. To date, their damage spans 27,000 hectares, equivalent to one-third of the city of Santiago's surface area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make matters worse, the beaver is not alone; it is part of a catalog of 1,119 naturalized\/feral alien species in Chile\u2014non-native species that in some cases become invasive, causing damage to biodiversity through predation and resource competition, as well as economic harm. Paradoxically, some of these invaders are protected by law.<\/p>\n\n\n