Biological Corridor to Protect Endangered Huemul Deer in Chile

Chile has launched a program to protect the huemul deer, a southern deer species threatened with extinction, by creating a biological corridor that includes an area recently donated by the family of the late North Face founder, Douglas Tompkins. Both the Rewilding Chile Foundation, inherited by the Tompkins family, and the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture stated that "the Huemul National Corridor will consist of approximately 16 connected areas protected by the state alongside other private conservation initiatives." The ministry noted in a statement that "this public-private partnership aims to reduce the threats facing this species and boost huemul deer populations in key conservation areas along the Patagonia Park route," adding that "it will also build the world's first rescue, rehabilitation, and breeding center for huemul deer." Last week, co-founder and president of Rewilding Chile, Kristine Tompkins, met with Chilean President Gabriel Boric to donate 93,492 hectares of land to create a new national park in the Magallanes region. The huemul is one of two native deer species found only in the forests of Patagonia in Argentina and Chile, but environmental degradation has reduced huemul populations to less than one percent of their original numbers, according to data from the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture.