Field Vet Activities in Argentina , 1998

Pampas Deer
In a collaborative project with the Fundacion Vida Silvestre Argentina (FVSA), Drs. William Karesh and Marcela Uhart provided veterinary services for the radio-collaring and health evaluation of a rare sub-species of Pampas Deer. This subspecies only exists in two small areas of north-eastern Argentina.

Three subspecies of pampas deer were described by early taxonomists based on external morphology and skull characteristics. Recent genetic studies have confirmed the validity of these three subspecies. The first of these (Ozotocerus bezoarticus bezoarticus) is found only in Brazil, while the second one (O.b. leucogaster) lives in the dry scrub lands of Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina, and the grasslands of Uruguay. Finally, the subspecies we were concerned with in this project, O. b. celer, is the rarest of the three, endemic only to the Argentinean pampas, and is also one of the most endangered animals in the country. At present, approximately twelve to fifteen hundred pampas deer of the O. b. celer subspecies remain and they are restricted to two isolated populations in Argentina. One of them is in the province of San Luis (in the center of the country), and the other on the Samborombon Bay in the eastern part of the province of Buenos Aires. The smallest of these populations is the one at Samborombon, the place where we were working. Deer numbers have declined dramatically there and only two hundred and fifty animals survive in the wild at Samborombon.

Before European colonization, the indigenous people of the pampas consumed pampas deer regularly but deer populations apparently remained stable. The Indians also used deer hides for the construction of shelters, and the bones as utensils. With the arrival of the Spanish conquerors and the introduction of cattle, the deer's luck began to change. Between 1860 and 1870, the export documents from the Buenos Aires port alone recorded two million pampas deer skins shipped to Europe.

By the beginning of this century, the final reduction of pampas deer numbers and loss of their habitat in Argentina had become critical. Reports of ranchers from this time claimed that the deer were susceptible to livestock diseases such as Foot and Mouth Disease, though no studies on the health status of this species has ever been conducted.

Fundacion Vida Silvestre Argentina requested the assistance of WCS's Field Veterinary Program to help them pursue ecological and health studies at the Campos del Tuyú Reserve on Samborombon Bay. Campos del Tuyú is a seven thousand and five hundred acre private nature reserve surrounded by cattle ranches on three sides and the sea to the north. The land was originally purchased by FVSA in 1985 to provide protection for the remaining population of pampas deer living on the coast of Argentina. In 1987, an additional twenty-five hundred acres was acquired by FVSA with funds provided by the Wildlife Conservation Society.

This grassland reserve provides safe habitats not only for the endangered deer, but also for a wide range of wildlife. Hundreds of species of birds live there and even more use it as a stopover point during their migration from the northern hemisphere. The ponds have huge flocks of Chilean flamingos and roseate spoonbills feeding in the warm, plankton and crustacean rich water. Storks, herons and egrets line the shores. Pampas foxes and Geoffrey's cats roam the grassy fields and the small patches of woodlands.

But the flagship species, the one that draws the most attention to the reserve is the pampas deer. Delicately built, and standing only about three feet high at the shoulder, the males or bucks weigh no more than eighty pounds and the doe's no more than seventy. Both are light, golden brown in color and with white rings around their eyes. From the time the males reach adulthood at three years of age and for the rest of their lives, they grow antlers with only three points or tines. The other distinctive characteristic of pampas deer is the strong odor or musk produced by the scent glands in a little vestibule in their nostrils and in the spaces between their hooves. Standing downwind, you can smell a male a hundred yards away.

For this project, Drs. Karesh and Uhart immobilized seven pampas deer and fitted them with radio collars and collected blood for health evaluations. Arrangements were also made for sampling cattle living on ranches surrounding the reserve in order to assess the diseases that they may carry and spread to the deer.

One of the most important components of the project is the FVSA coordinated public awareness campaign. At gas stations, public offices, and stores throughout the region, eye-catching posters explaining the rarity and plight of the pampas deer are prominently displayed. Mario Beade, the reserve manager, visits local schools through out the year to give talks about the deer and wildlife. FVSA has produced a popular comic book for children about conservation issues and the pampas deer. And even our radio-collaring efforts draw the attention of local people. As in the case of wildlife research projects in many parts of the world, the local perceived value of wildlife is greatly enhanced whenever people see or hear about the tremendous effort individuals and organizations are making to save a species in their own back yard.

By coordinating with WCS's Communications Department, we took this concept one step further and connected our field work with the WCS web site. Using a digital camera, laptop computer, and a portable satellite telephone, we were able to write reports in English and Spanish on our daily activities, include photos from the work, and send the material electronically for web site updates. Hundreds of people in the U.S. and in Argentina followed our daily progress.

For Media Contact Information, Please Click Here.