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 5 October Servicio Agrícola y Ganadero and the National Zoo had captured ten pumas in Santiago.[4] Also on 5 October, 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). 3 April 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  2. "Pumas vuelven a bajar de los Andes para recorrer un barrio de la capital chilena". Reuters (in Spanish). 23 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  3. "Encuentran más pumas en Santiago, ahora en Las Condes". Radio Cooperativa (in Spanish). 23 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2021.
  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). 5 October 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  5. "Atrapan a un puma en Santiago de Chile y buscan más ejemplares". EFEverde (in Spanish). 24 September 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
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