Miss Merinia taught me.
“This is the camera.”
“This is how
you turn it on.”
“How you turn it off.”
Camera traps help
because people,
mothers, their children and family
get excited when they see the wildcats.
They fall in love and say,
“Wow, I have to respect and take care of my home.”
For generations,
wildcats and people here
lived in fear of each other.
But biologist Merinia Mendoza
believed the cycle could change.
And she found the key in this group of Quechua women
to begin rewriting the story of the
Andes’ most misunderstood predators.
Ccarhuacc Licapa is very privileged
because it has all three Andean felines:
the Andean cat,
the pampas cat
and the puma.
And since they are carnivores,
they maintain balance of the ecosystem.
With pumas, the conflict is much greater here
because they come very close to the livestock.
They make an impact because they prey on alpacas.
The main local economy here
is based on alpacas.
For many decades,
men organized puma hunts.
The skins of these
“problem” animals
were hung on walls as trophies.
I remember when I came face-to-face with the feline.
I was herding my alpaca.
The puma had already been watching me.
It came down from between the rocks and hypnotized me.
I couldn’t stand up.
I just shouted.
I saw it knock down my alpaca
and drag her away by the legs.
That night, I sat down and cried.
In the past decade,
encounters between pumas and villagers
only grew more dangerous.
So, in 2023,
Merinia launched a conservation initiative
led by Quechua women.
With 30 members,
they work to reduce conflict
and protect the felines they once feared.
This is the Andean cat
and her cub coming out of their den.
Oh, how beautiful!
Where did you find it?
She will teach it to hunt.
There are two!
That one’s a male!
Let me see it again!
It’s a male.
They’re now getting used to
not seeing the puma as an enemy.
So now,
they know that
conserving cats
doesn’t mean not touching them,
it means taking care of their home
and not burning
or cutting down trees.
In the past,
I witnessed
how they used to burn the forest,
patch by patch,
because that was how they scared the puma away.
Across the Andes,
the loss of Polylepis forests
is pushing wildcats closer to people.
The association is now protecting
700 hectares of forest.
But finding ways to avoid the puma’s territory,
without harming it,
is now essential.
We are now working
with improved, cold-resistant pastures.
because Ccarhuacc Licapa
is more than 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) above sea level,
where the cold is intense.
These improved grasses are perennial.
They last many years.
We no longer go up the mountain.
When we plant this pasture,
we don’t have to go to the highlands anymore.
We simply cut it and feed the animals right here.
The improved pasture
prevents the cows and alpacas
from coming into direct contact
with the forest,
which also prevents them from
being preyed on by carnivores.
And also prevents domestic animals
from carrying diseases
to the forest
and spreading them to wildlife.
We’re also beginning
implementing our pilot alpaca shelters
so they’re predator-proof.
We also have improved chicken coops
to prevent
small felines,
from preying
on chickens.
Since the start of the project,
conflicts with wildcats have decreased dramatically,
and for the first time,
pumas
are no longer
being killed in retaliation.
But protection here
goes beyond the forest.
The association also launched
an alpaca wool textile cooperative
inspired by the very wildcats they protect.
When we get together as a group,
we embroider these little bags,
these tablecloths.
We teach one another.
Their art now supports their families
and empowers them to lead this conservation effort.
We can take care of these Andean felines
just as we care for our animals.
Our cows, our alpacas.
I would tell my children,
“We’re friends now.”
I would say, “We’re compadres.”