2024-02-20 18:21:56
This week a record went viral showing a puma crossing a river in the Los Lagos Region, to the surprise of a group of tourists.
During this week, a record went viral in which a puma swimming through a river in the Los Lagos Region.
A group of tourists was surprised to see an animal sailing through the water on the afternoon of Monday, February 12, so they decided to record it and post it on social networks.
“At first we didn’t know what it was and as we got closer we realized it was a puma. I had no idea pumas were good swimmers.“said Macarena Tarud, who captured the moment and uploaded it to TikTok.
According to what the woman said, the animal would have swam nearly 200 meters, taking into account the width of the river. “I had never seen a puma, not so close. I found it very cute, and I am very grateful to see the puma swimming“he commented.
Are pumas good swimmers?
Melanie Kaiserveterinarian and co-founder of the Con Garra foundation, focused on the preservation of Chilean native felines, in conversation with La Cuarta, pointed out that pumas “they are good swimmers. There are extensive studies of large populations that attest to what percentage of mountain lions swim and how often; “But there are some anecdotal studies.”
On the other hand, Nicolás Lagos in his book On the limit: Pumas, Torres del Paine, stated that it is usually thought that felines are not very fond of water, which is why they avoid rivers and lakes. However, in the Torres del Paine National Park, pumas have been seen navigating the Paine River and the Lego Pehoé. In this way, the author of the book states that these animals They are capable of traveling up to 220 kilometers and determining their hunting territories.
In addition to the recently viral video, there is a record dating back to 2010, where a male puma repeatedly crosses from Lake Cochrane to Victor Island, which means that he traveled between 500 and 1,000 meters. Regarding this situation, Melanie Kaiser said that the puma was fitted with a trailing collar, which made it clear how the animal arrived at the island, fed and returned to its territory.
Continuing along these lines, the specialist comments that a puma wants to cross a river for various reasons: due to its natural movement or if it is searching for food, if it is looking for a reproductive partner or simply if it is expelled from its territory.
Regarding the record that went viral this week, Melanie Kaiser maintained that the puma “I was quite happy, calm. Crossing because the other side will also be part of their territory, or to defend it. But all within their natural behavior.”