2020 puma sightings in Santiago

In a 2020 a series of rare sightings of pumas in the streets of the periphery of Santiago, Chile, were reported.[1] Three pumas were sighted in late March–early April of which two were captured.[1] In September a group of three pumas, including a cub and his mother were sighted in a Precordilleran neighbourhood of Las Condes.[2][3] As of October 5 Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero and the National Zoo had captured ten pumas in Santiago.[4] Also on October 5, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Planning and the Ministry of Agriculture launched a guide on "what to do and don't do" during and after puma sightings in cities.[4]

According to Juan Valenzuela, sub-director of Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero in Santiago Metropolitan Region there are two hypotheses to explain the sightings.[5] The first one is that pumas have moved into the city as a result of the lockdowns enforced due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile.[5] A second hypothesis relates the sightings of pumas to a scarcity of food in their usual territories.[5]

References
  1. "Varios pumas se pasean por las calles vacías de Santiago de Chile". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2020-04-03. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  2. "Pumas vuelven a bajar de los Andes para recorrer un barrio de la capital chilena". Reuters (in Spanish). 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  3. "Encuentran más pumas en Santiago, ahora en Las Condes". Radio Cooperativa (in Spanish). 2020-09-23. Retrieved 2021-09-12.
  4. "¿Qué hacer si hay un puma cerca de su casa?: Gobierno lanza guía ciudadana para el encuentro de fauna nativa en zonas urbanas". La Tercera (in Spanish). 2020-10-05. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  5. "Atrapan a un puma en Santiago de Chile y buscan más ejemplares". EFEverde (in Spanish). 2020-09-24. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
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