Named after a river in the state of Goiás, Corumbá the puma was named after a river in the central Brazilian state of Goiás. Between 2022 and 2023, as much of the world was locked down by the COVID-19 pandemic, Corumbá embarked on an epic journey through the state, beginning in Atlantic Forest State Park, or PEMA, to Serra de Caldas Novas State Park, or PESCAN. In between, he crossed different fragments of vegetation. He stayed at PESCAN for a period before moving on. Corumbá walked more than 120 kilometers (75 miles) during the 11 months that he was monitored by a GPS radio-transmitter collar. His movements were logged until July 2023, when the transmitter’s battery died and the collar released itself from around Corumbá’s neck. “[The cat] moved beautifully in the landscape, and we identified the fragments that he traveled through between the two parks,” says biologist Fernanda Cavalcanti de Azevedo, executive coordinator of the Mammals of the Cerrado Conservation Program (PCMC), which is connected to the Federal University of Catalão (UFCAT) in Goiás. “This enabled us to attribute a level of priority for the conservation of these specific regions because the puma acted as our ‘tool,’ showing us which areas they are.” PCMC has been carrying out studies and extension programs in central Brazil since 2009 to learn how wildlife native to Brazil’s Cerrado savanna, mostly the carnivores, interact in landscapes modified by human activities. In that time, the program has zeroed in on two essential species: the…This article was originally published on Mongabay