Managua, Nicaragua (RTV) -- At an animal shelter in Nicaragua's capital of Managua, veterinarians are nursing months-old puma cubs back to health after they were rescued from traps set by farmers.
Separated from their mother when set upon by local ranchers, conservationists moved in to rescue the endangered big cat from near death.
Although similar in appearance to the household cat, the adorable cubs do not make ideal pets. With razor sharp teeth and claws that act on instinct, the animals will be hand fed until they are strong enough to be released back into the wild.
"This is a wild animal who could never be tamed domestically because he never losing his hunting instinct. As you can see he is very restless when present with meat, he doesn't grab it like a cat but attacks it because that is his instinct after five months. We will give him food, de-worm him and rehabilitate him so he can be sent to a reserve where he will be in a controlled environment for one week before being completely freed," said vet Noel Martinez.
With urban development increasingly encroaching on the natural habit of these majestic cats, pumas are at risk of extinction in Central America as they move closer to urban and farm areas in search of food.
Attracting the ire of farmers looking to protect their livestock, they are often mistaken for foxes and killed.
"As the urban population has increased significantly we are taking away their natural habitat so that this animal needs to hunt rodents which we exterminate with poison. Now they come to our yards a hunt chickens which are food for many people and people say its a fox and they come and kill it (puma)," added Martinez.
Despite the hunting of the felines being illegal, a lucrative fur trade and private zoo owners has conservationists increasingly concerned for the future of the big cats.
A large and solitary cat that can grow to the size of a man, the puma has the widest range in the America extending from Canada to Argentina.
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