Zoos, Circuses, Safaris: A Gallery of Captivity

[Balam]

Coconuco, a male Colombian Llanos cougar that became orphaned after his mother was killed. He's now in the care of La Palmita reserve:

*This image is copyright of its original author

"One of the saddest and most beautiful memories that I keep from the plain was having met Coconuco, affectionately we call him “Coco”. He is a (Puma concolor) that a few years ago illegal hunters trapped in the heart of the Trinidad floodplain in Casanare, to commercialize it.


Coco is currently under the care of the professionals and workers of La Palmita Foundation. La palmita is a socio-environmental NGO located in Casanare, they have a natural reserve of 400 hectares of flooded savanna and 250 more hectares of gallery forests owned by the Mora Fernández family; They have protected this territory for a long time, currently they have a research center in which they carry out scientific projects and environmental education for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

I had the fortune to do some work with the La Palmita Foundation where I met Carolina Mora (Biologist and director of the Foundation), a charming woman, llanera by birth, with a deep love for the flooded savanna and a very strong commitment to conservation. of this ecosystem. Years ago Carolina learned that some illegal hunters had caught a family of pumas, a female with two young.

She immediately informed the competent authorities that after long 15 days from the complaint they went to the place and only found a small puma, only 2 months old, that was badly injured.

The puma baby being so small could not control its instincts and being at the mercy of its hunters, it found a fine fighting cock that unfortunately managed to catch and destroyed with its small clubs; Her punishment was immediate and without any mercy she received a strong blow at the height of her hip that left her motionless in her hind limbs.

Upon seeing the state of the animal, the competent authority refused to confiscate it since they did not have the resources to treat it, so the solution given at the time was to euthanize or worse, leave it with its captors.

Carolina says that when she saw the condition of the little feline, she agreed with the competent authority; without being able to move its hind legs it was impossible for it to survive or live in dignity. However, his brother Flavio Mora (a professional researcher at the foundation) flatly refused and gave him the necessary care to achieve his recovery, so Flavio asked for a loan from the Puma, they took him to the reserve and together with expert veterinarians as Ana Mora Barney they provide the necessary veterinary care.

In the reserve they built an enclosure large enough for him, looked after him, cared for him and fed him; But many continued to think that the feline's luck was not going to be the best and they continued to opt for euthanasia. However, the veterinarians continued to treat the little Puma, gave a balanced diet and calcium supplements for his bones and did physical therapy with balls to strengthen the muscles of the hind limbs.

Carolina in the middle of a night of confessions told me with big tears in her eyes, that she began to see strange behavior in the puppy when he was alone in his enclosure, that she saw that he was crawling and moving in a strange way; When she approached to see what was happening she was completely surprised, the puppy crawled up to some coconuts that were close to him, managed to locate them under his hind legs and began to move back and forth as his veterinarians did when they did The therapy with the balls, "It was not to believe" he told me and crying uncontrollably he reproached himself for having thought at some point that the best thing for him would have been euthanasia.

Shortly after, "Coco" was already climbing the trees with her little legs hanging down.

The intelligence of this animal, its desire to live and the care of its veterinarians, the whole family and the workers of the reserve, achieved the total recovery of the animal; After a few months he regained movement and although his front legs developed much more than his back ones, the cub grew strong, if you look closely you can see a slight limp, but that also makes him unique, he is a puma with "Tumbao".

The feline, already adapted to its new conditions and with total mobility in its back legs, began to enjoy its enclosure, it has enough space to walk, a constant water source, a platform at the top of a beautiful and lush Guácimo tree (Guazuma ulmifolia), which has long, strong branches on which it can climb and rest.

One day a peacock jumped over the protective mesh of the enclosure of "Coco", his instincts surfaced when he saw that delicious sandwich near him and motivated him"

Story by Lucia Cordoba
Source in its original Spanish. Reply