In Brazil, two jaguars cause the death of 172 flamingos that lived in the Bird Park

Two of the jaguars that live in the Iguazú National Park, the natural reserve that surrounds the famous Iguazú Falls in Brazil, invaded the neighboring Bird Park at dawn this Tuesday and caused the death of 172 of the 176 flamingos that they were kept in this zoo.

“Today is a very difficult day for the Bird Park family. It is with great regret that we announce the loss of 172 flamingos that lived with us ”, confirmed in a statement the administration of the institution, which is a world reference in the reproduction of both the African-flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus) and the Chilean-flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis ).

According to the note, the attack was perpetrated by a mother and her one-year-old calf who is learning to hunt. These are two jaguars that, despite living free in the nature reserve in the extreme south of Brazil and bordering Argentina, are monitored and even identified as Indira and Aritana.

The two cats managed to reach the enclosure where the flamingos live within the Bird Park, despite the protection bars and surveillance cameras, and their attack was only discovered on the morning of this Tuesday.

“Not all the animals died from the direct encounter with the jaguars. Some flamingos died from the stress of the situation, a phenomenon known as capture myopathy. Only 4 flamingos survived ”, adds the note.

The Bird Park administration declared a three-day mourning and announced that it will only reopen its doors next Friday.

The institution – the only one in the world dedicated to the conservation of the birds of the so-called Atlantic Forest and occupying 16 hectares of a wooded area – has about 1,500 birds of 150 different species and, with about 830,000 visitors per year, and is also the second biggest attraction in the city of Foz do Iguazú, after the falls.

The park became a world reference in the captive reproduction of flamingos after the birth of the first young in 2001 from 16 specimens that arrived from Chile in 1995.

“This scar will remain forever in the history of the Park, but we trust that we will restart the colony of flamingos and a new history,” the statement concludes.

The attack by the felines had wide repercussions on social networks, with several negative comments, which led the Onças do Iguaçu (Jaguares del Iguazú) Project to release a statement in defense of the animals.

“What happened was a fatality. We have received many comments about the behavior of jaguars, some with very negative connotations, but jaguars are wild animals, carnivores, excellent predators. They hunt and feed on other animals. They are not cruel. They are just jaguars ”, says the note.

The organization added that visiting the region’s attractions is safe because jaguars move away from people and seek refuge in the forest, and clarified that in the Iguazú National Park there is only a record of 28 of these cats living in the 185,000 hectares of the reserve.

“In the entire Atlantic Forest there are only 250 jaguars. We have a critically endangered population that was almost extinct in the 1990s but that, after much effort and dedication from conservationists, has been recovering, “he added. (I)