A conservation nonprofit in Chile has delighted South American ecologists with the daytime camera trap footage of a Pampas cat, an extremely rare, non-endangered, and little-understood small wildcat species. Named after the characteristic South American environment they thrive in, the “Colocolo,” to use the local name, looks like a small lynx, or large house cat. […]
Tag: Puma
With rare mammal tourism, observing means conserving (commentary)
At the turn of this century, seeing a wild jaguar was exceptionally difficult. People driving through the Jaguar Ecological Reserve in the Pantanal in Brazil would very occasionally get a glimpse of one crossing the road, but photographing them in the wild was considered almost impossible. The same was true for other large iconic cat […]
Family Picnic Gone Wrong: Mountain Lion Mauls Young Boy
Parents of a young child lived a nightmare on Sunday at Malibu Creek State Park in southern California. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), a family group of several children and about six adults were enjoying a picnic when a mountain lion mauled a five-year-old boy. He sustained serious but non-life-threatening […]
They Live Here Too
They are called pumas, mountain lions, panthers and/or cougars. Sadly they are in the sights of man’s rifles and Lugers. They are predators much in need. What is not needed is man’s avarice and greed.
Colombia’s endangered felines
We normally associate felines with large African or Asian cats such as lions, tigers, leopards or cheetahs, but little is known about felines from other parts of the world and, in particular, the Americas. A recent study by Instituto von Humbolt and Fundación Panthera bring into light information on the six species of felines that […]
Purple Martins Building a Nest in a Woodpecker Hole in a Dead Snag
The Purple Martin (Progne subis) is a well known and popular bird in eastern North America where it breeds almost entirely in human-made martin houses. Only a few records of natural nestings east of the Rocky Mountains have been reported during the twentieth century1. Here in western North America however, where Purple Martins are less […]
A feisty skunk
In November 2012 I traveled to Torres del Paine National Park in South Chile, with the main goal of seeing and photographing pumas. I organized the trip through Trogon Tours, a company specialized in South American birding and wildlife trips, owned and managed by my friend Luis Segura, who was my guide throughout the trip. […]