e, and zoologists are skeptical, indicating that the animal seen could have been a lynx, writes ERR News.
The Estonian Society for the Protection of Animals (ELS) has published information on social networks that a puma has been spotted in the forests of Võru County, causing a great deal of concern. The publication says that a puma has been seen in Rouge parish, near the Latvian border. The reporter reportedly informed that the animal has been seen several times and only moves in the southeastern part of Estonia.
Zoologists Mati Kaal and Aleksei Turovski are skeptical, however. Kaal said that people’s knowledge of wild animals could be better, and the animal could also have been a lynx. He added that it was most likely not just a big cat, but that the lynx could also look so much like a puma that the observer would mistake it for a puma.
If the animal seen turns out to be a puma, it is likely that the animal escaped from a zoo or wildlife park. Kaal added that if a puma escaped from captivity,
it would be used to receiving food from humans, which makes it easier to catch.
How well the puma, whose natural range is continental America, could survive in the Estonian forests depends on the subspecies. Turovski explained that there are at least eight subspecies of pumas. If there is a Canadian puma in the forest, it would cope just fine. The Patagonian puma would survive in Estonia even better, but the tropical subspecies would have a harder time. The zoologist added that he did not think the puma would be very dangerous. “If it is an animal bred for several generations as a pet, then, for it, a human is a source of food and care. I really don’t believe it would attack a human on its own initiative,” said Turovski.
According to Kaal, a lot depends on the specific situation. In general, a puma would prefer to avoid contact with a person, but if it feels threatened and cornered, it may also attack.
The diet of a puma is similar to that of a lynx, which means that in Estonian forests both species would compete for food. Depending on the age and subspecies of the puma , the loser could be the lynx.
Zoologists said that pumas are very agile, which is why they are difficult to catch. Despite the fact that it is unlikely that a puma is found in Estonian forests, it cannot be completely ruled out. Kaal said that there is a private zoo in Saaremaa that houses a puma, and it is possible that Latvians have also gotten hold of the big cat somewhere. He pointed out that allowing private individuals to keep potentially dangerous wild animals is a no-brainer. While the animal is small, it is extremely cute, but when it reaches sexual maturity, it becomes uncontrollable and even dangerous to others.
The ELS has called for reports if pumas or other big cats are spotted in the forest.
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