Puma spotted in Limón hotel

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Published on Tuesday, March 12, 2024

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

A puma (Concolor Cougar) was spotted wandering inside a hotel in Guapiles Canton, in Limón Province.

The hotel's restaurant and pool area were the locations of the wild cat's two-minute appearances, prompting bystanders to post images of the visitor on social media.

Luis Cespedes-Corrales was one of the people who got a close-up look at a big cat and posted two videos from the location's security cameras on his Facebook public media. The wild cat can be seen roaming around the pool and restaurant area in the first video. Then, the puma is easily seen crossing the hotel's games area in the second video.

The puma then ran into the jungle, Cespedes said.

On social media, witnesses expressed their belief that the puma may have come from the Braulio Carrillo National Park, which is close to Guapiles Canton.

Recently, a puma was spotted wandering near the Golfito Canton's Public Clinic in Puntarenas Province.

According to the National System of Conservation Areas (Sinac), the governmental institution in charge of managing all of Costa Rica's national parks and wildlife reserves, the discovery of pumas near town proves that the population is booming.

The puma may be found in the majority of the country's national parks and wild regions, from the Barra del Colorado National Park in the northern zone of the Caribbean Coast to the Corcovado National Park in the southern zone of the Pacific Coast's Osa Peninsula.

The puma in Central America is subspecies of the North American cougar. Populations of this subspecies can be found from western Mexico to northern Andes Mountains in South America.

The puma has a complete brown coat with no patches. Males weigh an average of 80 kg (176 lb), while females weigh an average of 50 kg.

The wild cat is a carnivore, and its primary food species include deer, common opossum, agouti, and coati, among many others.

As a huge predator, the puma plays a vital role in ecological regulation. The presence of cougars as predators prevents herbivorous prey, such as deer, from overpopulating in an environment. Prey overpopulation can lead to the annihilation of flora and biodiversity in an environment.

The main reasons for puma population declines are hunting and habitat degradation, authorities said.

They are classified as endangered in Costa Rica and are protected under Wildlife Conservation Law No. 7.317, which was passed in 1992 and defines the legislative framework for wildlife conservation, management, and sustainable use.

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