Though tricky to spot, pumas inhabit Chile's Torres Del Paine National Park. Quasar Expeditions launched its first puma trekking safaris in the park earlier this year.
Alvaro Jaime/Quasar Expeditions
Patagonian wilderness —
Though distributed from the Canadian Rockies to the southernmost Andes -- and known alternatively as cougars or mountain lions -- pumas have historically been thought of as too elusive for any sort of commercial tourism.
Alvaro Jaime/Quasar Expeditions
Torres Del Paine National Park —
Torres Del Paine is one of the most well known parks in South America. Home to more than 50 pumas, it's also one of the best places in the world to spot the cat in the wild.
Mark Johanson
Predators —
Active from dusk to dawn, pumas are rarely spotted midday.
Jose Fabian Hernandez/Quasar Expeditions
Guanacos —
Guanacos are an important food source for pumas in Torres Del Paine National Park. They're common and easily spotted here.
Mark Johanson
Puma tracker —
Puma tracker Jose Vargas searches for animals from a lookout in front of the national park's iconic massif. He grew up in the park's Lago Grey region and was tracking pumas alongside his father by age five.
Mark Johanson
Searching for pumas —
To find pumas, Vargas keeps an eye on the guanacos.
Mark Johanson
Track and trail —
The Fauna Trail, near Laguna Amarga, is littered with guanaco carcasses from puma attacks.
Mark Johanson
Caracara —
The southern crested caracara often feeds on the animal carcasses leftover from puma attacks.
Mark Johanson
Safari jeep —
Tourists on a typical puma-tracking excursion head out before sunrise.