The video of a puma that was sighted crossing the tracks of the Tren Maya, in section 5 of the construction in Quintana Roo, has generated controversy and concern among environmentalists and defenders of wildlife, who questioned the safe passages for wildlife for this and other endangered species.
The sighting was reported by the Sélvame del Tren collective, which pointed out the lack of specific steps for the mobility of the region’s endemic species.
In the video of a few seconds, the puma is seen crossing the works, whose species of animal was confirmed by a specialist from the Jaguar Wildlife Center.
A person is also observed, a few meters from where the feline is, lying on the floor so as not to attract its attention and thus avoid an attack since it is a predator and could be hungry.
However, the person also records this unusual event through the lens of his camera.
Captan a un puma en un tramo de vías en construcción del Tren Maya, en Quintana Roo.
— Joaquín López-Dóriga (@lopezdoriga) May 20, 2024
La especie la confirmó un especialista del Jaguar Wildlife Center.
Vía @cris_n0pic.twitter.com/C62OVM0YBe
It was Raúl Padilla, a specialist from the Jaguar Wildlife Center with 14 years of experience in monitoring endangered wildlife in Quintana Roo, who confirmed that it was a puma.
Padilla explained the characteristics that allowed the animal to be identified as a puma and not a jaguar, as had initially been speculated among Internet users.
“The animal is very elongated compared to the jaguar, which appears to be much more compact. The size of the tail is much longer in proportion to the body, and the head is not as large as that of the jaguar. These characteristics identify it as a puma,” commented Padilla.
This sighting of the puma crossing the tracks during works on section 5 of the Tren Maya has sparked concern and controversy due to criticism from environmental organizations that denounce and question the lack of safe wildlife crossings for wild animals in this emblematic work of President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador.
The Tren Maya project, which covers 1,500 kilometers, aims to bring development and prosperity to one of the most impoverished regions in Mexico, but environmental activists are calling for the protection of various endangered species.
Instead of safe wildlife crossings on the Tren Maya, not only in section 5 but in all of them, transversal drainage have been built that do not fulfill the function of protecting the mobility of the species. The Sélvame del Tren collective has documented that in the first eight months of operation of the Tren Maya, at least six jaguar runs over have been recorded, making the situation even more difficult for local fauna.
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