Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument is a Natural Monument

Natural Monument

A natural monument is a natural or natural/cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities or cultural significance....

 located in the Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

an Patagonia

Patagonia

Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...

, 24 km (15 mi) northwest of Puerto Natales

Puerto Natales

Puerto Natales is a city in Chilean Patagonia. Puerto Natales is the capital of both the commune of Natales and the province of Última Esperanza, , one of the four provinces that make up the Magallanes and Antartica Chilena Region in the southernmost part of Chile...

 and 270 km (168 mi) north of Punta Arenas. The monument is situated along the flanks of the Cerro Benitez

Cerro Benitez

Cerro Benítez is a mountain in the Patagonian region of Chile. In a larger context this feature is an element of the Cerro Toro geological complex. The Cueva del Milodón Natural Monument is situated on the southern flank of Cerro Benítez. The Cerro Benítez is a location for sighting of the Andean...

 Mountains. It comprises several cave

Cave

A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...

s and a rock formation called Silla del Diablo (Devil's Chair).

The monument is notable for the discovery in 1896 of skin, bones and other parts of a giant ground sloth

Ground sloth

Ground sloths are a diverse group of extinct sloths, in the mammalian superorder Xenarthra. Their most recent survivors lived in the Antilles, where it has been proposed they may have survived until 1550 CE; however, the youngest AMS radiocarbon date reported is 4190 BP, calibrated to c. 4700 BP...

 called Mylodon

Mylodon

Mylodon is an extinct genus of giant ground sloth that lived in the Patagonia area of South America until roughly 10,000 years ago.Mylodon weighed about and stood up to tall when raised up on its hind legs. Preserved dung has shown it was a herbivore. It had very thick hide and had osteoderms...

 (Mylodon darwini).

At the entrance of the monument is a life size replica of the prehistoric Milodon, which was a very large herbivore, somewhat resembling a large bear. It became extinct at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch.

Milodon Remains

Investigations determined the survival of the Milodon until about 5,000 years ago and confirmed the existence of other animals, such as the "Dwarf Horse" Hippidion

Hippidion

Hippidion was a Welsh pony-sized horse that lived in South America during the Pleistocene epoch, between two million and 10,000 years ago....

, the saber-toothed cat

Saber-toothed cat

Saber-toothed cat or Sabre-toothed cat refers to the extinct subfamilies of Machairodontinae , Barbourofelidae , and Nimravidae as well as two families related to marsupials that were found worldwide from the Eocene Epoch to the end of the Pleistocene Epoch ,...

 Smilodon

Smilodon

Smilodon , often called a saber-toothed cat or saber-toothed tiger, is an extinct genus of machairodonts. This saber-toothed cat was endemic to North America and South America, living from near the beginning through the very end of the Pleistocene epoch .-Etymology:The nickname "saber-tooth" refers...

 and the litoptern

Litopterna

Litopterna is an extinct order of fossil hoofed mammals from the Tertiary period that displays toe reduction. Three-toed, and even a one-toed horselike form developed....

 Macrauchenia

Macrauchenia

Macrauchenia was a long-necked and long-limbed, three-toed South American ungulate mammal, typifying the order Litopterna. The oldest fossils date back to around 7 million years ago, and M...

Human Remains

Diverse elements of human habitation are found at Cueva del Milodon including fire fractured rock, lithic tools and human remains. Human habitation at Cueva del Milodon is dated as early as 6000 BC.