An albino cougar, a rare genetic mutation in wildlife, particularly in these cats, was born a month ago at a zoo in Nicaragua, where it is still protected from the eyes of visitors, the zoo said.
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“We are taking every measure to ensure that he is in the best possible health together with his mother,” Carlos Molina, a veterinarian at Thomas Belt Zoo in Juigalpa, about 140 km from Managua, told AFP on Wednesday.
Photo: AFP
“He is in good health and in good physical condition,” he added of the little white cougar, who was born on July 20.
Photo: AFP
At birth, the common puma’s fur is light brown or reddish with black markings. The genetic mutation that causes white pigmentation is rare in animal species, particularly cougars.
“We’re glad about that because it doesn’t happen very often,” Molina said.
The cougar is the second largest feline in America after the jaguar and the fourth largest in the world after the tiger and the lion.
Zookeepers are avoiding contact with the baby cougar, who is being raised with its mother in a cave in a fenced enclosure, and are hoping he can receive veterinary treatment for the first time in two months.