{"id":42902,"date":"2024-10-14T20:02:49","date_gmt":"2024-10-14T18:02:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/0190aa55-10f9-4168-82c4-5f8931b0a6a6"},"modified":"2024-10-14T20:27:29","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T18:27:29","slug":"enthralling-spectacular-photographs-of-the-pumas-of-patagonia","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/enthralling-spectacular-photographs-of-the-pumas-of-patagonia\/","title":{"rendered":"Enthralling, spectacular photographs of the pumas of Patagonia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Living secretive lives against the spectacular backdrop of Chile\u2019s Torres del Paine, Patagonia\u2019s pumas are proving a conservation success. <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Monday, 14 October 2024 at 18:02 PM<\/p>

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Nestled in the southern reaches of Chilean Patagonia, Torres del Paine National Park may be famous for its windswept granite peaks and impossibly turquoise lakes, but in recent years it\u2019s also become known as one of the best places in the world to encounter pumas<\/a> (Puma concolor<\/i>, also known as cougars or mountain lions). <\/p>

In August 2019, photojournalist Lucas Bustamante<\/a> spent a week amid the ice and snow of this iconic landscape, getting to know a hard-working female and her four six-month-old cubs.<\/p>

A puma with her cubs. \u00a9 Lucas Bustamante<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Like most cats<\/a>, female pumas raise their young alone after mating in the spring. Litters usually number two (though can comprise up to six), so this was a healthy brood. The female was a very attentive parent, regularly grooming her youngsters and ever-watchful for danger. It pays for mother pumas to invest in their cubs \u2013 females typically average just one litter every two to three years.<\/p>

\"A
A guanaco watches some pumas at play. \u00a9 Lucas Bustamante<\/figcaption><\/figure>

A guanaco\u2019s curiosity almost gets the better of it, as it wanders nerve-janglingly close to the family hideout. When out hunting, the female often stashed her cubs in rocky nooks across her territory, to ensure shelter not only from the bitter Patagonian wind, but also from large males, who would kill the youngsters in a heartbeat to bring the female back into season.<\/p>

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Puma cubs at play. \u00a9 Lucas Bustamante<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Bursting with energy, the cubs played virtually non-stop, constantly pestering their mother when she was trying to rest after a night\u2019s hunting. \u201cIt was funny watching the female try to \u2018escape\u2019 her young so that she could get some sleep,\u201d says Lucas. \u201cWherever she went, they would find her and try to rouse her to play. She had enormous tolerance for their antics.\u201d<\/p>

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A puma in Patagonia. \u00a9 Lucas Bustamante<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Found from Canada\u2019s northern Yukon to the southern Andes, pumas have the largest range of any terrestrial mammal in the Americas. These are incredibly adaptable cats and survive in virtually every habitat, including all types of forest and lowland and mountainous desert. In South America, research has shown that puma density varies from 0.5 animals per 100km\u00b2 to as many as 7 per 100km\u00b2 in Torres del Paine.<\/p>

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Puma cubs playfighting. \u00a9 Lucas Bustamante<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Playfighting is how cubs hone their hunting skills and develop the killer instincts that enable them to survive as adults. \u201cThe cubs were endearingly clumsy when playfighting,\u201d recalls Lucas. \u201cThey were trying to stalk and pounce, but kept stumbling and tripping over each other.\u201d<\/p>

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