Wild boar threaten Chile's rare monkey puzzle forests

Invasive pigs binge on seeds of endangered 'living fossils

- Richard Pallard

A NEW STUDY WARNS THAT A RARE FOREST ecosystem in South America may be under threat - from a voracious wild pig species imported from Europe.

Native to the slopes of the Andes Mountains in Chile and Argentina, the monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) has sometimes been called a living fossil' because of its resemblance to fossils from the Late Triassic period, more than 200m years ago. After years of illegal logging, the tree was declared Endangered in 2013.