Orcas on the beach, Peninsula Valdes, Argentina

About a third of the way down the coast of Argentina, there’s a large peninsula that juts out into the South Atlantic Ocean. From an aerial view, it looks like it should have been an island. The thin strip of land that connects it to the mainland is so narrow, that when you drive along it, you can see the sea on both sides. The desert here runs right up to the sea, giving brilliant contrasts of brown and blue. This is Peninsula Valdes, and it’s a major wildlife preserve in Argentina.

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The peninsula is home to a number of unusual and endangered species, both land-based and sea-based. On land, you’re apt to see herds of guanacos – adorable relatives of llamas, who graze on the scrubby fields and hillsides. Dusty rheas can be hard to spot unless someone points them out. These are flightless birds, that look like small ostriches.
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Maras are relatives of guinea pigs, though they look more like overgrown rabbits. There are Patagonian foxes, and the very odd hairy armadillos. Nearby Punta Tombo is home to the continent’s largest penguin rookery, where half a million magellanic penguins congregate each year during breeding season.
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The marine life is equally fascinating. About 43,000 elephant seals come here to breed every year. These are the world’s largest seals, and they dive up to 3,000 ft to feed, in the abyss off the edge of the Patagonian shelf.  Southern right whales visit the protected gulfs  to breed.  Sea lions used to be slaughtered by the thousands here for seal oil, a practice that has fortunately ended. The number of sea lions clubbed to death at Peninsula Valdes over a 40-year period, is about the same as the current worldwide population.
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Then there are the orcas, also known as killer whales. Orcas are found in all oceans of the world, but different populations have unique characteristics.  A unique trait of this group is that their hunt for baby seals and sea lions frequently brings the whales right up onto the beach.  They swim straight for the beach, then wiggle their enormous bulky bodies back off the sand, and into the water.
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An excellent book about the region is The Wild Shores of Patagonia, by Jasmine Rossi. The author spent two years here photographing the peninsula and its wildlife, and the results are fabulous. There is a wealth of fascinating information, and the photos are simply spectacular.
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We visit Peninsula Valdes on our Patagonia adventure trip, and we’ll be there in just a few weeks! I can’t say whether we’ll see any orcas swimming up onto the beach or not, but if I was a mommy seal, I’d want to keep my babies away from the water line!
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We also regularly see orca whales on our San Juan Islands trips, but the resident pods there eat only salmon, and stay well off the beaches!
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