Nicaragua Saves Two Jaguar Cubs From Illegal Trade

Two small jaguars, one of the animals in greatest danger of extinction in Nicaragua , were rescued from poachers after the intervention of the National Zoo and the authorities.

The small specimens, a female and a three-month-old male, were held by hunters in the Daukura area, in the northern Caribbean. To capture them, they killed the mother first, zoo director Eduardo Sacasa told AFP.

The intention of the traffickers was to sell them to a foreign citizen, but a complaint on social networks, with the photo of the caged cats, ended their plans.

Upon learning of the situation, the zoo sought help to contact the traffickers, who agreed to hand over the animals in exchange for Sacasa going to look for them without the presence of the authorities.

Sacasa says that he traveled by plane to Bilwi, the main city in the northern Caribbean, and was guided by four people, first by car and then by boat on a river, to the village where the jaguars were.

“It is our passion to save these animals that are in danger of extinction, they are killing them,” Sacasa said after arriving in Managua with the specimens.

“They are thin, they were feeding them cow hide. They were going to sell them to a Chinese citizen and then take them to Honduras,” Sacasa said. He specified that there are many wild animals roaming the communities, after the passage of hurricanes Eta and Iota in November, which destroyed their habitat.

The small predators, with intense green eyes, arrived scared this Wednesday at the zoo, located 20 km south of Managua, where in the next few days they will be dewormed and subjected to medical examinations.

Jaguars are, along with tapirs, the most endangered animals in Nicaragua , Sacasa said.

The zoo, where there is also an animal rescue center, develops a breeding program for jaguars, which in captivity can live up to 25 years, while in the wild they do not exceed 10 years due to the destruction of forests and illegal hunting. explained the also vet.

In Nicaragua , jaguars live mainly in the forests of the Atlantic Coast. They are very skilled and strong carnivorous animals, capable of hunting crocodiles in the water.

The jaguar species (Panthera onca) is in the category of “near threatened”, in the red list of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).