Two Puma Cubs Expand the Feline Family at the Zoo

Two puma cubs are the newest additions to the vast family of felines residing at the Asunción Botanical and Zoological Garden. The sex of both cubs is yet to be determined, but they are in perfect health, according to the zoo director, Maris Llorens.

Newborns. The two puma cubs are in very good condition. Newborns. The two puma cubs are in very good condition. “The veterinarians do not handle them because if the mother senses a strange scent on the babies, she may reject them. They are doing very well,” expressed the director while highlighting the work of the veterinarians.

The cubs will have the luck their mother didn’t, as explained by the director. The feline had arrived at the zoo when she was young, rescued like many other pumas that should not have been taken from the wild.

The first-time and courageous puma – emphasizes Llorens – had her mother killed, and like others, she grew up in the zoo’s breeding unit and later joined the other felines in the habitat.

Among Bengal tigers, jaguars, and pumas, the latter are more numerous. That’s why in July, there are plans to inaugurate a new space for these animals, which number more than 20, according to the director.

Rescued. At the Asunción zoo, wild animals rescued from individuals who have them illegally arrive every day, bought as cubs mainly from natives – such as the case of the pumas – and later cannot keep them because they grow too large and cannot be controlled. “These are not house cats,” says Llorens.

The director stated that the place for wild animals is not homes, nor is it the zoo, “but there is no other alternative” to save them from death because if released into their natural habitat, they are killed for their fur, the mother is killed to take away their offspring and put them up for sale.

“It must be said that at the zoo, they are very well cared for, with much affection. Not to mention the appropriate and clean food and habitat; everyone is treated very well,” she points out.

Llorens attributes the birth of parrots, turtles, pumas, and tigers to good care. “A wild animal in captivity only reproduces if it is well cared for,” she observes.

The Ministry of the Environment works with the Asunción zoo and the Maris Llorens Foundation due to the number of wild animals rescued and receiving veterinary care on-site.

“We must stop the illegal trade of wild animals,” emphasizes the director.

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