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01via AUBTU / Pumakawa
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Nature, sometimes, can be quite cruel, but nowadays, oftentimes, it's humans who cause the most difficulties for wild animals. It was in the summer of 2017 that an injured, one-month-old cougar was brought to the Pumakawa Animal Reserve in Argentina by a worried family who found him abandoned on the roadside.
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via AUBTU / Pumakawa -
“He was run over by a combine harvester," Kai Pacha, 54, president of the reserve, told The Epoch Times. “He was transported in a small cage. He was very careful with the family: parents and two adolescent children. They were very worried about his contortions, and they believed he had epilepsy. Only when I saw him, I knew he had a severe stomachache.”
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03 via AUBTU / Pumakawa
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The little cub seemed to trust the family who rescued him, so they stayed with him for a while, administering reiki, a non-contact energy healing practice popular in Latin America, to try to help him. After that, they left him in the capable hands of Pumakawa’s expert staff for treatment.
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The staff at the reserve named the cub Estanislao, which means “one who achieves glory”. After careful observations by the staff, it was determined that Estanislao was completely and irreversibly blind.
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05 via The Epoch Times / Pumakawa
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“From there, our care was more accurate,” Pacha said. “I started to have him with me all the time. I also do this with other pups until they are a few months old and can part with my close attention. In the case of Estanislao, due to his blindness, he continued to need my guidance.”
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06 via The Epoch Times / Pumakawa
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The cub could never be released into the wild because of his blindness, but that doesn't mean that he stopped enjoying life. In fact, his relationship with Pacha was a bright spot, growing stronger with every day they spent together. They even developed a daily routine in which Pacha tried to teach Estanislao to use his non-visual senses to navigate the world.
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07 via The Epoch Times / Pumakawa
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“I had never worked with or accompanied a blind animal or blind person,” Pacha said. “I started by doing things to calm him down. It was mostly contact to guide him and small vocal sounds similar to those of his mother. I tried to make myself feel like a cougar.”
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08 via The Epoch Times / Pumakawa
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Estanislao began responding to Pacha's voice, learning to follow her when she called. “I felt a maternal relationship," Pacha said, and we completely understand why she did.
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09 via The Epoch Times / Pumakawa
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“When I am physically close, he begins to groom himself suddenly and exaggeratedly. He grooms me; it seems like a recognition and a great approval of my presence,” Pacha said. “In the afternoon he likes to play. His favorite activity is playing with a boxing bag that is hung high, where he can swing his paws on two legs and run in a circle.”
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10 via The Epoch Times / Pumakawa
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Today, Estanislao is about 8 years old, and he is still very dependent on the closeness provided by his caretakers, especially Pacha. “Currently there are two people who can take care of him in my place,” Pacha explained. “They have a little more distance, but they are incorporated by him. With them, he has a bond and trust.”
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12 via infobae / instagram/pumakawareserva
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13 via infobae / instagram/pumakawareserva
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14 via AUBTU / Pumakawa
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15 via AUBTU / Pumakawa
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16 via AUBTU / Pumakawa
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17 via AUBTU / Pumakawa
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