Guanacos, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile 9 Dec 2024

Guanacos, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile

Pictured here today are the guanacos in Torres del Paine National Park, Chile. These herbivores may look like llamas in disguise, but they"re truly wild at heart unlike their domesticated cousins. Found roaming the Andes mountains and Patagonian plains, these long-legged wanderers are South America"s answer to the camel family—minus the humps but with double the resilience. These adaptable creatures can thrive in extreme environments, from the dry Atacama Desert to the chilly, windswept plains of Patagonia. In fact, their name even comes from the Quechua word "huanaco," meaning a wild animal or an animal that runs fast. And run they do, at up to 35 miles per hour!

© Floris van Breugel/NPL/Minden Pictures

palette

Today in History

Heads together
9 Dec 2023Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, Arizona, USA

More Desktop Wallpapers:

5 Jul 2025Pride in London
9 Jul 2025Independence Day of the Argentine Republic
26 Aug 2024Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
Connecting the dots
Taking a New Year nap
9 Aug 2025International Day of the Worlds Indigenous Peoples
20 May 2024World Bee Day
Love is in the snow
18 Apr 2025International Day for Monuments and Sites
Panoramic Penzance
Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)
A salty situation
Rainbow reflection
The buffet is open
Masterpiece of acoustic engineering
3 Jan 2025Happy Birthday, JRR Tolkien!
7 Dec 2023Verdon Gorge, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, France
A warm hug in the icy north
1 Feb 2025Königstein Fortress, Saxon Switzerland, Germany
Walking a rocky rainbow
4 Apr 2024Red lechwe, Okavango Delta, Botswana
6 Apr 2025Gaztelugatxe islet, Basque Country, Spain
30 Jan 2025Rolands Breach, Spain
5 Jun 2024World Environment Day
Aug 21, 2023Discovery Day in Yukon, Canada
26 Jan 2024Big Garden Birdwatch
Celebrating our looming lunar neighbour
27 Aug 2024Young black caiman, Tambopata National Reserve, Peru
2 Jan 2024Prayer flags in Phobjikha Valley, Bhutan
A walk in the clouds