During a motorcycle ride on 5 March 2022, at 7.15, one of us (CEAC) sighted a deer, and was able to film it using a mobile phone. This allowed us to identify the individual as a male taruka Hippocamelus antisensis. The deer seemed to be alone, and fled after being filmed.
The taruka, which occurs above altitudes of 2,000 m in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru, is categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The species was believed to have gone extinct in La Paz valley by the end of 1980s, but was resighted as close as 8.5 km from the southern border of La Paz city c. 15 years ago (Rechberger et al., 2014, Oryx, 48, 445–450). In 2016, a lone male was sighted on a golf course c. 3.5 km from the city (E. Galdo, pers. comm.). Our new observation of the species was only c. 250 m from a recently urbanized area near the highly populated neighbourhood of Achumani, on the north-west border of the city at c. 3,800 m, and as far as we are aware is the most recent confirmed sighting of a taruka in the vicinity of La Paz city.
Although we have not rigorously monitored the advance of this population, the fact that a species formerly believed extinct within La Paz valley has been sighted so close to the city suggests that the species is recovering locally. In many places the taruka's principal habitat is not well protected; e.g. in northern Chile (Mata et al., 2019, Oryx, 53, 752–756). As the protected areas in La Paz are relatively small, we believe the population in La Paz valley may be recovering as a result of the absence of conflicts with people and the almost complete absence of sport hunting. The taruka is a charismatic species, and we therefore intend to approach La Paz city authorities to secure their support in using the taruka as a flagship species for local biodiversity conservation and education programmes.
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