Last November Phoebe set out in search of the Patagonian puma, an endangered big cat that is often illegally killed by gauchos – hired by farmers who want to prevent them from hunting their sheep. But the thing is sheep are introduced, before Europeans took them there the pumas would have lived on guanaco who are native to the South American region. So in essence man created a problem – introducing animals that are tasty and easier to hunt for the felines, but then persecutes the wild animals for doing what comes naturally.
Determined to share their story and show to locals and landowners in Chile that these beautiful creatures are worth more alive – through tourism dollars – than dead she met with Diego Araya a passionate conservationist and puma devotee.
Read all about her trip (published in Wanderlust travel magazine) and see the photos she managed to capture of these elusive big cats by clicking on the photo.
