THE PUMA - CAT OF ONE COLOUR (Puma concolor)

[peter]

(07-05-2018, 07:03 AM)Shir Babr Wrote: Puma hunting three-toed sloth. Clip from the Untamed Amazonia series, a french production that aired in the late 90's. I remember this show was the first wildlife documentary I watched that was narrated and portrayed in a more soap opera fashion. Sloths are strong.

I saw that series as well. Back then, the natural world was considered a thing of beauty over here. Today, in between the countless commercials, I only see us.   

A long time ago, I visited Surinam, French Guyana and the northernmost corner of Brazil. In a remote place in the jungle, I met an old (Dutch) man who got his degree in Berlin during the Second World War, meaning the authorities were after him. In order to survive, he caught wild animals. He was real good at it. The cats I saw (jaguarundi, ocelot, puma and jaguar) had been caught only days before I arrived, meaning they were very wild at heart. Most of them were flown to the US.

Although quite a bit smaller than the giants in Venezuela and southern Brazil, the jaguars I saw were very active. Not as fast as pumas, but more outgoing. The Indians I saw, told me they stayed clear of them. They had good reasons, but my experience was different. The island I visited in a large river had a jaguar. He didn't mind us staying for two nights, but on the third day he said it was time to move on. 

Surinam pumas more or less compared to those in Yucatan for size. They stayed away from humans. The trainers I interviewed said they were the most athletic of all cats. Reply