The Juma jaguar was shot down with a pistol shot in the War Training Center in Selva (Cigs) shortly after being displayed in the Olympic event. As another jaguar, nicknamed Simba, she had been chained and presented to the public during the ceremony.
The Army maintains several ounces in captivity in the Amazon. Felines ─ and animals of other species ─ usually adopted by the body to be found in captivity or in the hands of hunters.
Many ounces as Juma, become mascots of battalions and undergo training sessions. In Manaus, the cats are frequent presence in military parades, a practice condemned by biologists and veterinarians.
In 2014, while recording a documentary in Manaus, Cigs military showed Juma, the mascot of the center, the BBC Brazil. At the time, they explained that the jaguar had been rescued with injuries after her mother was killed. It was taken to the center and there grew up under the care keepers.
The tragic fate of Juma draws attention to the situation becoming more precarious of the species listed as endangered in Brazil by Ibama in 2003.
It is an animal that requires extensive preserved areas to survive, hunting species such as capybaras and even alligators. She has been threatened by deforestation, not only in the Amazon as well as the Pantanal and the Cerrado, to make room for the expansion of farming.
pistol shot
In a note sent to the site of the local branch of Amazon Real news, the Amazon Military Command (CMA) says that after the Olympic ceremony on Monday, Juma escaped into the army center of the zoo. The agency says that a group of vets and military tried to recapture it with tranquilizers, but that even hit the animal advanced on a soldier.
"As a safety procedure, aiming to protect the physical integrity of the military and grooms team, was held a pistol shot the animal, who died," says the agency.
Ounce Simba also participated in the ceremony.
According to the US Amazon, two soldiers holding the chain attached to Juma throughout the event. The site says that many people took pictures with the jaguar at the ceremony. She would have run after the display, when the military tried to put it in a truck.
The army said it opened an administrative procedure to investigate the death of the cat. According to the US Amazon, the Institute of the State of Amazonas Environmental Protection (Ipaam) had not authorized the participation of Juma in the event and may fine the corporation.
untameable
For John Paul Castro, a biologist with a master's degree in animal behavior at the University of Brasilia, Juma may have fled after stressing during the event.
"It's not healthy or desirable to subject an animal to a situation like that, with noise and many people around," he tells the BBC Brazil.
"Often an ounce now lives in a precarious and stressful situation in captivity, which is aggravated in a stirring scene."
Castro says many battalions of the Army in the Amazon keeps ounces in captivity. He claims to have visited a center that held a feline in Cruzeiro do Sul (AC) under "very rough".
According to Castro, it is a mistake to treat ounces as domesticated animals. He says it takes several generations in captivity for a species get used to living with humans.
The biologist says that ideally ounces seized must be returned to nature or taken to shelters, where they might get loose in large spaces.
According to him, the release of cats is a complex process, but there are successful cases around the world ─ as the Tigers returned to forests in Asia.
Hours before the death of Juma, the BBC Brazil asked the Army information about the keeping of wild animals in organ dependencies in the Amazon. There was no response to the publication of this report.
A veterinarian from Manaus who has worked with the army and asked not to be identified defended the body of criticism. According to him, to care for rescued animals, the corporation assumes a function that should be other government agencies.
He says the military are very careful with the animals and the bureaucracy prevents many are returned to nature.
The vet also said that most of the rescued jaguars reach the body still young and become dependent on caregivers, making it difficult his release.
Credits: G1
Published by Wes
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