Saved a cougar who lived as a pet under a bed in Trelew

A Trelew family had him at home. After a complaint, he was transferred to a zoo. Your next destination will be a natural park in Uruguay.

After years of captivity and bureaucratic obstacles, an Argentine cougar will finally be released. The animal, christened with the nickname "Pangüi", had been captured by a family in Trelew, who had it as a pet. Authorities have now been able to obtain the necessary authorizations to transfer him to the biopark in Durazno, Uruguay.

The story of this feline was revealed when Trelew's zoonotic authorities found him in a house in October 2015, thanks to a neighbor's complaint. "I was in a yard, hidden behind accumulated objects, including a bed.I was on alert, but calm.If he had been wilder, he would have wanted to escape." But only managed to hide, "said Verena Dietz at the time, the function in charge of this body.

"Pangüi" was in good health and weighed between 80 and 100 kilograms. In the presence of the rescuers, he only looked at them. Once they managed to catch him, he was transferred to the Rawson Zoo.

But it was not his ideal destiny. After four years of existence, a team consisting of the Wildlife and Wildlife Branch, the Institute of Social Welfare, the General San Martin Recreation Park Coordination in Rawson and the Animal Life Foundation managed to get the permits allowing him to Uruguay, in a natural park.

In this biopark, located in Durazno, a large variety of native birds, deer and mammals coexist on about 100 hectares. And, now, it will become the new home of "Pangüi".

As a result of this case, the authorities recalled that a local campaign was underway to raise public awareness of the dangers of using these wild animals as pets. From their aggressive behavior, from diseases to the generation of species problems for their reintegration into the wild.

Source: TN

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