Minas Gerais Agency | Government of Minas Gerais and Ibama rehabilitate run-over jaguars and return them to the wild

A brown jaguar was reunited with nature last Friday (3/5), fully recovered after being run over on a highway in Minas Gerais. The scenario was only possible thanks to a joint effort by the Government of Minas Gerais, through the State Forestry Institute (IEF), with the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) and other institutions.

It all started when the mountain lion was found run over on a highway near the city of Campos Altos, in Alto Paranaíba, at the end of February. Rescued by the Minas Gerais Military Fire Department (CBMMG), the jaguar was taken to the University of Uberaba (Uniube), a private institution where it received its first care and a fracture was found in the animal’s left femur, which then underwent surgery.

Part of the jaguar’s recovery was carried out at the Patos de Minas Wild Animal Triage and Rehabilitation Center (Cetras), a reference in receiving and caring for wild fauna in the region. Subsequently, the jaguar was transferred to Belo Horizonte, where it remained at the Zoo in the capital of Minas Gerais, as it needed constant medication, due to its wild behavior and the fact that the zoo had large enclosures.

When it was found that the jaguar had fully recovered, the animal was released in a private area, far from urban areas, which is in the process of being registered with Ibama in Minas Gerais.

“When people from this area got in touch with us and we saw the potential of the area, we saw that it would be an excellent place to release it, in an articulation between private properties and state and federal agencies”, explains Érika Procópio, veterinarian at the IEF.

Monitoring

The jaguar was returned to the wild with a radio collar, which allows the animal to be monitored after release. The equipment will monitor the feline’s routine, tracking all movements in this space.

Érika Procópio reiterates the importance of coordinating the various bodies involved in the process. “We managed, together with Ibama, to make a GPS/VHF radio collar available that will enable monitoring of the animal now released, monitoring that will be carried out by the Waita Institute for Research and Conservation, by sources from the Semente platform, from the Public Ministry of Minas Gerais (MPMG)”, he points out.

Puma

The puma (Puma concolor or Cougar) is the second largest feline species in the Americas and the fourth largest in the world. Despite this, it is an endangered species. The average weight of an adult male can vary between 40 kg and 72 kg, while females range from 34 to 48 kg. The body is elongated and slender, with an average length (head and body) of 1.08 m.

With a solitary and territorial habit, pumas form pairs only during the mating season. A female’s gestation period varies between 82 and 98 days, with one to six puppies weighing around 400g being born. The puma feeds mainly on mammals, birds and reptiles, and can also feed on larger vertebrates such as deer, wild pigs, capybaras and alligators.