Carlos the Puma Has Passed On

The Belize Zoo bid farewell to one of its beloved resident animals on Sunday. Carlos, one of the three pumas at the zoo, fell ill and died.  He was rescued as a cub when his human family could no longer care for him.  He was a popular attraction at the zoo, loved by visitors and zoo keepers alike.  Carlos the Puma was known for his purrs and his energetic personality.  The one hundred and fifteen pound big cat was also an ambassador for his species.  Here’s what we found out about the dearly departed Carlos the Puma.

Andrea Polanco, Reporting

The Belize Zoo said good-bye to one of its long standing and beloved residents over the weekend.  A few days ago, Carlos the Puma fell sick.  Medical tests show he was fighting a cancerous tumor, but by Sunday morning, he was dead.

Humberto Wohlers

Humberto Wohlers, General Curator, Belize Zoo

“Carlos started to show signs of lethargy; his intake of food reduced and we did a check up on him over the weekend where it showed on the ultrasound that he had a large mass on his left kidney. However, we didn’t know the extent of the mass – how large it was. And so that took him down and probably that is what made him gone away from us. Of course his age had to do with it too.”

Carlos the Puma was seventeen years old; an age, according to the Belize Zoo that is beyond the life expectancy of wild pumas. Thanks to the Belize Zoo, Carlos lived for almost two decades after he was taken in as a rescued cub from the village where he got his name – San Carlos in Orange Walk back in 2003.

Humberto Wohlers

“He was someone’s pet before coming to the zoo and as the people kept him as a pet he started to pounce on kids as they passed by and the owner decided and noticed that his behavior is changing and that is when they notified the zoo that he wanted to give up his Puma to be part of our collection.”

Andrea Polanco

“And he has been there ever since?”

Humberto Wohlers

“Yes he has been here ever since.”

Carlos the Puma was a happy, energetic big cat with. A must see at the Belize Zoo where he served important roles for his species. Although Carlos is gone – Humberto Wohlers is comforted by the memories he has of this puma.

Humberto Wohlers

“He has been our Puma ambassador; his species ambassador. A great animal; great energy. He is like one of the first animals who would show up front if we call him up. He used to love his meat. He used to love eat.   When he was a young cat. A lot of people would always like to touch animals however we don’t really practice that but when we would have to go closely we would touch his fur and he would purr because they don’t growl, they purr. And it gives you a sense of comfort that he is responding to you all the time.”

And so the zoo was able to provide him with a happy and comfortable home right up to his death. It’s a tremendous loss. But because he was being domesticated from young age, the zoo gave Carlos a lease on life.  Zoo keepers estimates that he would have only spent two years alive had he been released into the wild after he was rescued.

Humberto Wohlers

“Small animals would always be hard to release back into the wild. If it was a wild cat that came straight from the wild that got rehabilitated it has more chance to survive because they have that instinct to survive; to hunt; this instinct they get it from their mother who teaches them to hunt. But when it is a little baby, he doesn’t have that instinct to be able to survive and if you release them right back.   The animals who are in captivity, we give them the best care we can but as the term goes and it is time to leave we only remain with good memories  of the animals we care for.”

With Carlos gone, the Belize Zoo is left with two pumas, Freddy and Princess. Reporting for News Five, I’m Andrea Polanco.