For pumas, guanacos and Magellanic penguins, raising youngsters to an independent age in Patagonia is a massive undertaking. Across a single, short summer, these parents rally against the clock to do their jobs before the ferocious ice storms of winter close down their nurturing window.
Guanacos are strange, lanky relatives of the llama. Spring ushers in calving, and expectant mums are under huge pressure to give birth and get their babies moving before the pumas and foxes take note. As the guanaco herds mass onto high plateaus, a puma mother watches eagerly. Her story is intertwined with that of the guanaco. She watches their every move. She scores a windfall during birthing seasons when calves die after being injured by angry males, enabling her to feed her cubs.
Far to the east, Magellanic penguins arrive wearily after a 1,000 kilometre ocean journey and begin an arduous trek across a mile of loose shale to find a nest site. Defending the family home means brawling in the dirt. Mum and dad take turns to head to sea to find fish, but South American sea lions are waiting for them, terrorising parents as they leave the safety of the shore.
Meanwhile, southern right whales are departing Valdes and the Chilean coast, escorting their calves back into the krill-rich Southern Ocean. It’s been a tough summer for all of them. They’ve faced all manner of threats, and have raced against the clock to get strong enough to face the looming Patagonian winter.