AYACUCHO, Peru — High in the Peruvian Andes, a group of Indigenous Quechua women is transforming long-standing conflict with wildcats into a model of coexistence, conservation and cultural revival. A puma (Puma concolor) captured by a camera trap in the mountains of Ayacucho, Peru. Image courtesy of Mujeres Quechua por la Conservación. A new film, Women Secure a Future with Pumas in the Andes, examines how the fear of predators like the puma (Puma concolor), pampas cat (Leopardus garleppi) and Andean cat (Leopardus jacobita) once shaped daily life in the high-altitude community of Ccarhuacc Licapa. For generations, community members hunted these wildcats in retaliation for livestock losses, particularly alpacas, the community’s primary source of income. Antonio Torres, a former vicuña guard, holds the skin of a puma killed in retaliation for livestock losses. He is now a member of the local conservation group. Image courtesy of Cristina Hara. An alpaca herd grazes near the highland community of Licapa, where livestock is central to local livelihoods. Image courtesy of Cristina Hara. The documentary follows shepherd Ida Auris Arango, whose life was marked by a traumatic encounter with a puma, and biologist Merinia Mendoza Almeida, founder of the local women-led conservation association Mujeres Quechua por la Conservación. Together with dozens of Quechua women, they began using camera traps to document the area’s wildlife, helping families — especially mothers and children — see the wildcats not as enemies, but as part of a shared ecosystem. Shepherd Ida Auris Arango, a member of Mujeres…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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