Thirteen Darwin's Rheas Return to Chile's Patagonia National Park in the Year's Third Release

In Chile's Patagonia National Park, 13 Darwin's rheas (*Rhea pennata*) were released onto the steppe in April 2026, part of a long-running effort to bring the flightless bird back to the Chacabuco Valley. Mongabay reported on the work in October, describing a women-led team working with the Rewilding Chile Foundation, which is run by Tompkins Conservation.

It was the third release of the year. According to Mongabay, each one takes close to a year of preparation, including about two months of acclimation so the birds are settled before they go free.

Why the rheas disappeared

For more than a century, sheep and cattle ranching carved up the Patagonian steppe with fences and heavy grazing. Rheas nearly vanished from the valley. Early surveys, Mongabay reports, estimated only about 11 to 15 of them in the area.

What is changing

Tompkins Conservation has since removed thousands of kilometers of fencing, which opens up movement for rheas and other wildlife. Rangers say they are now seeing:

• More rhea chicks
• More interactions between rheas and guanacos
• More natural dynamics on the steppe than in earlier years

On release day, the birds were calm and began grazing almost immediately, which the team took as an encouraging sign. Rheas also spread plant seeds, and one ranger called the bird "the gardener of the steppe," a nod to its role in restoring the grassland.

Challenges ahead

The recovery is not guaranteed. Pumas are the main natural predator of the rheas, and illegal livestock grazing and leftover fences remain threats, both for rheas and for other wildlife in the park.

Why it matters

Reintroducing a native bird is slow, patient work, but it is one of the clearest ways to measure whether a landscape is healing. Each release adds more animals to a population that, not long ago, could be counted on two hands.