The Huemul Decline

(Mangabay.com)

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS.

As climate change continues to warm our planet, the Andean mountain range will continue to become less habitable for the deer. Due to rising global temperatures, the Andean mountains are experiencing less snowfall year after year, which decreases the habitat available for the Huemul’s necessary migration into snow-covered areas each winter. As there is less terrain covered by snow, the Huemul migrate across much longer stretches in order to find suitable winter ranges, further separating subpopulations (Fluek, 2005). Subpopulations are incredibly damaging to endangered species, as they create less genetic variability through inbreeding depression, (the reduced survival and fertility of offspring of related individuals), which increases risk of extinction. Additionally, as temperatures rise, the previously cold winters of the alpine tundra Andean environment will be replaced with invasions of nonnative species, like red deer, that prefer warmer weather. This explosion of invasive species will further reduce the Huemul population due to competition for food and water.

HUMAN FACTORS.

Humans are encroaching more and more upon Huemul's habitat, which reduces the habitat available for Huemul to survive. Starting the time the Spaniards began to conquer parts of South America, non-native groups of humans began to populate areas inhabited by the Huemul. As more roads and towns were developed through processes such as deforestation, populations of Huemul began to severely fragment, further isolating surviving groups. Along with humans came the increase of domestic livestock, such as cattle and goats (Povilitis, n.d.). These animals, which increased competition for food and water resources, brought diseases such as bovine diarrhea, Caseous Lymphadenitis (which causes abscesses in the Huemul’s body), osteopathy (affecting bone health), and foot and mouth disease, killing off surviving populations of Huemul (Black-Decima, 2016). Further exacerbating this severely diminished population, feral and domestic dogs have also killed and maimed a considerable amount of deer. Unregulated tourism has also heavily impacted ecosystems where Huemul resides, as unsustainable practices heavily damage habitats and populations of endangered species.