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On Monday it was announced that a two-month-old cougar had been rescued by private individuals, who reported that they had found him alone, without his mother, in the Coquimbo Region last Thursday. After this, they handed him over to the SAG of Limarí.
Currently the animal is in the Center for the Rehabilitation of Wild Fauna of the National Zoo, This, after it was determined that due to his age and the hours he had been out of nature, he could no longer be reinserted into his natural environment.
As reported this morning by Alejandra Montalba, director of the National Zoo, to Chilevisión, the puppy “is doing well”, is undergoing intense hydration treatment and feeds on its own, although its behavior indicates that it was in human company for a long time.
“It is presumed that this animal was under human care for a long time, for days or weeks. There are many people who have indicated to us on social networks that in the Fourth Region there were people who had this animal as a pet, there is an investigation involved at this minute “, Held.
According to the expert, the animal came looking very close to people, and that gave them to suspect that it had already spent a lot of time with humans.
“For us, once this animal came to the zoo for rehabilitation, we realized that his behavior was very close to people, we call him imprinted, which makes us suspect that this theory that he was in human care for much longer is quite feasible, “he added.
Along these lines, Montalba warns that this is a species protected by law, and therefore capturing it and keeping it as a pet is illegal.
“If one meets a cougar cub in the wild, the mother is most likely nearby, Thus the call is to do absolutely nothing, leave the puppy in the place where it is so that it can fulfill its role in nature once it grows up and learns from its mother ”, he said.
According to the expert, at this age the cub could no longer learn essential things from its mother, such as hunting. “And that means that this animal cannot be reinserted into nature,” he adds. Therefore, if people come across a cougar or any animal cub, the call is to do nothing. “They can alert the authorities if they are concerned, but most likely the mother is nearby,” he added.
