KARACHI: Two pumas born at Landhi-Korangi Zoo continued to attract visitors in large numbers on Friday, the third consecutive day of their interaction with visitors.

It’s the first time in the history of any government-run facility for captive animals in the city that a big cat’s species raised in captivity gave birth. The babies are now over two months old.

“That’s also the reason why we were so careful and didn’t allow public access to their enclosure for two months. Besides, initial two months are critical for newborns and we wanted to ensure that babies get maximum attention from their mother,” said Dr Mansoor Qazi, senior director recreation, Karachi Metropolitan Corporation, overseeing all KMC facilities for captive animals.

The babies, yet to be named, had starting eating bits of minced meat, though they were also fed by their mother. Access to babies’ enclosure was still restricted while the male puma had been separated from the mother, he added.

Currently, the Landhi-Korangi Zoo houses more than 100 animals, most of them birds and faces an acute shortage of staff. The zoo has made no arrangements to educate visitors about puma species whose birth they recently celebrated. Even a banner hung in the zoo for visitors describes puma as a lion.

When these concerns were raised with Mr Qazi, he replied: “Preparations are under way to improve zoo conditions and hire staff. Also, we will put up detailed information about puma species in the zoo for visitors.”

It might be recalled that puma cubs’ parents named Zewry and Percy were born and raised in Karachi Zoological Garden and were shifted to Landhi-Korangi Zoo in 2016 while their grandparents Puba and Vinny purchased from a local firm in 2012 still live in Karachi Zoological Garden.

Puma species are predominantly found in the mountains from southern Canada to the tip of South America. They have no markings on their fur leading to its scientific name Felis concolor which means cat of one colour.

The puma is a solitary animal with the exception of the time cubs spend with their mother. Puma cubs are born blind and are completely helpless for their first two weeks of life until their blue eyes fully open.

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2019