Puma Albino's Child Born At Nicaragua Zoo Grows Healthy

A puma albino cub who was born in the Nicaragua zoo. (Screenshot of YouTube Channel News9 Live)

JAKARTA - An albino puma cub born last month at a zoo in Nicaragua grew healthy according to veterinarians, while he had not been shown to visitors.

"He is healthy, his body is in good condition," said veterinarian Carlos Molina at the Thomas Belt Zoo 140 kilometers from the capital city of Managua, as reported by SCMP September 2.

Doctor Molina estimates that the puma albino kid is one of four albino puma in the world today, as reported by Reuters.

Although the child is healthy and eating well, Molina warns this is still early, while the albino puma requires a lot of care and is prone to sunlight.

"We are making every effort to keep it as healthy as possible, along with the mother," said Doctor Molina.

Puma albino and her twoige and spotted siblings are kept in a closed cage, so that the mother does not become stressed or confused about the smell of a human being from the smell of a newborn baby, which can cause her to attack them.

Meanwhile, his partner is stored in a separate cage, because male Puma is known to often kill their children.

"We are happy to have it because you don't see it often," said Molina.

For the time being, veterinarians have not had any physical contact with the puma albino cub. The gender is not yet known.

Later, when the children of the country are three months old, the zoo plans to show them off to the general public who come to visit.

Thomas Belt Zoo itself is visited by around 50,000 to 60,000 visitors each year, according to zoo management.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature said the puma had the widest geographical reach compared to any land mammal in the western hemisphere, although they were nearing extinction from eastern parts of North America after European occupation.