I crouch down cautiously among the Patuhu leaves, my vision
cutting desperately through the thick forest undergrowth in the hope that I
might be able to catch a glimpse of Koru’s eyes so as to get some kind of
indication as to his intentions, be they playfully malicious or distracted and
benign. He remains hidden and the forest lies quietly still giving nothing
away. I steal a quick glance down the
trail towards Paulette but she is sternly focused on the tiny gap in the
shrubbery into which Koru darted only moments ago, her face riddled with concentration.
She catches my eye and shrugs nervously before returning her gaze to the
forest.
He has been in there to long, I have been here before, I
know what happens next. I grab the slick, mud covered rope and begin to coil it
up in my left hand to reduce the slack. Across the trail Paulette has begun to
do the same….. Its game time.
Crash!
In a flurry of motion
a flash of brown fur erupts from the undergrowth.
Time stops.
The image of a male Puma becoming airborne as he attempts to
playfully tackle you to the ground is not one that is easily forgotten. In my
memory everything after each emergence is in ultra slow motion. His eyes are
huge……..his teeth glitter with small droplets of saliva and the corners of his
mouth are upturned into a slight snarl…………… His left paw gliding towards my
face, impossibly close to connecting………. But Paulette’s rope always catches him
at the last minuet, jerking the experience back into real time.
Thank god for our training and equipment. The double rope
system is the only thing that stands between us and our beautiful cat when he
gets playful. He gets playful allot. Sometimes with us, sometimes climbing
trees after a squirrel, sometimes pawing around giant seed pods in the forest.
It’s hard to believe that this is my life.
Koru & Inti Wara Yassi
Koru is a playful, mischievous male Jungle Puma (scientific name) that was captured from
a Bolivian military base back in 2008 at an age of 9 months. When he was taken
into Inti Wara Yassi’s custody he and his brother were tied on a 2m chain and
severely malnourished, having only been fed porridge. His brother soon died due
to complications associated with his mistreatment.
At first, on arrival at the reserve, Koru was very
aggressive towards males (particularly Bolivians) as a result of his
mistreatment by men. After some careful management Koru begun to trust people
again and, although still aggressive at times, his jumping slowly became more
playful. This being said, he still remains one of the most threatening cats in
the park due to his playfulness, intelligence, speed and power hence the reason
he is double roped.
After hearing where he has come from and what he has gone
through it is quite amazing what Inti Wara Yassi have managed to accomplish
with Koru (and the rest of their animals) with little more than a group of
uneducated volunteers. Considering they cannot ever be released, I have no
doubt about the quality of life that these animals now have, a life in which
they are walked everyday and cared for incessantly, is beyond anything else
they would hope to find in any other form of captivity.
Today Koru is considered one of the wildest cats in the
park. Unlike some of the other cats, he is not overly affectionate but instead
waits until you earn his trust and respect…… and only then will he purr for
you, head nudge you or allow you to scratch his head while he lays down. He had
begun to show small signs of stereotypic behaviour when I arrived, but through
the implementation of a routine randomisation schedule (of my and my new
partners devising) he is once again the inquisitive and excitable animal he was
as a kitten. He now stalks, hunts, climbs and plays throughout all 10km of his
trails through swamp, over logs and up mountains.
Although there is plenty of room for improvement in a variety of areas for Inti Wara Yassi, improvement that can only be sought via increased education of staff on current best practise and increased funding, they are doing the best with what they have.
Anyone able to provide educational or monetary support to this organisation should contact Inti Wara Yassi
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