Guanaco

Patagonia and Paraguay, South America

Guanaco populations face intense pressure from a combination of direct exploitation and severe habitat degradation. They are threatened by relentless poaching, recreational hunting, fatal attacks from feral dogs, and renewed conflicts with the ranching and forestry sectors. Their habitats and natural movement routes are also heavily fragmented by expanding highway infrastructure and the rapid growth of mining and energy projects. Climate change is causing further pressures through worsening droughts and desertification caused by livestock overgrazing. The overlap with agricultural creates intense competition for food and exposes populations to hybridisation and fatal diseases transmitted by domestic livestock.