The Tehuelche, a South American Indian tribe, inhabited the plains of Argentina from the Strait of Magellan to the Rio Negro for roughly 12,500 years. Initially a hunter gatherer community, the Tehuelche followed their food. They camped near mountains and lakes in summer and migrated to the coast in winter. The Tehuelche Indians gathered roots and seeds, collected oysters, and hunted guanacos and rheas, a flightless birds similar to an ostrich. With the arrival of the Spaniards in the 17th century the Tehuelche adopted the horse and started to trade. And they became famous without knowing it. European explorers impressed by the height and strength of the Tehuelche told tall tales about Giant Patagonians.