We left Pirenopolis in the morning and drove in convoy to reach the special conservation center called NEX no extinction, a non-governental organization. It is located 80 km from Brasilia, yet it is situated very far away on a dirt road. A very pretty road. Getting there was a little long for the kids, but they forgot about it as soon as we got out of the car.
The center is a refuge for brazilian felines that have been abused or have lost their capacity to be in the wild. There are panthers, black panthers, jaguars, pumas, and a few other smaller types of wild cats. There is about two dozen animals plus a few parrots and a pretty toucan.
The panthers are really impressives. They are angry wild animals, roaring and howling and bellowing with intensity that I never suspected. The dominant male was not happy to be unable to fetch Maya, the dog of our friends. Not that Maya really cared, wagging its tail in content. But I would not want to find myself on the way of this pretty cat, in the wild. We were invited to see it feed, and we assisted to a real fight between pumas who were arguing over who would "win" Maya - or one of our kids - we were not sure.
These animals have been rescued in various ways, some were owned by drug-lords and discovered in their properties during police raids. Other were not cared properly or abandoned by their owners. Some have damages to their fur or marks that prevent them to be integrated into zoos, as they are usually are looking for perfect animals. Some other have been declawed which makes it impossible for them to be reintroduced in the wild. Others have spent too much time in captivity to also be able to fend for themselves in the wild.
It was a very interesting visit. And for some reasons, all our kids understood when we talked about not touching the fence.
Most photos are Paul's.
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