Animals living in the Atacama Desert

The Atacama Desert where ALMA is under construction is the habitat of various animals. In the lakeside of the Salar de Atacama (Atacama Salt Lake, 2300 m asl) located southwest, about one hour drive from OSF (2900 m asl), we can see wild flamingos and Andean Avocet. Also, we sometimes find donkeys and vicunas on the road from OSF to AOS (5000 m asl). These lovely animal are living vigorously even in a harsh natural environment where the annual rainfall is less than 100 mm and the amount of oxygen is only about a half of that at sea level.
[Photographed by Teruomi Tsuno (NAOJ)]

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