Fodor's Expert Review Monumento Natural Cueva de Milodón

In 1896, Hermann Eberhard stumbled upon a gaping cave that extended 200 meters (650 feet) into the earth. Venturing inside, he discovered the bones and dried pieces of hide (with deep red fur) of an animal he could not identify. It was later determined that what Eberhard had discovered were the extraordinarily well-preserved remains of a prehistoric herbivorous mammal, mylodon darwini, about twice the height of a man, which they called a milodón. The discovery of a stone wall in the cave, and of neatly cut grass stalks in the animal's feces led researchers to conclude that 15,000 years ago the extinct beast inhabited this place and that an ancient tribe of Tehuelches likely captured the animal there. The cave at the Monumento Natural Cueva de Milodón is an impressive, cathedral-size space carved out of a solid rock wall by rising waters. It makes for an interesting stop for anyone fascinated by paleontology, or for fans of Bruce Chatwin's legendary travel book, In Patagonia, which centers in part on Chatwin's quest to find the origins of the remnant of mylodon skin he saw in his grandmother's home as a boy that she had told him came from a “brontosaurus."