A Month at Jacj Cuisi with Luna the Pouncing Puma

A month has gone by, it’s hard to believe.
The creepy crawlers I’m definitely ready to leave.
For my majestic feline I shall shed a tear.
This has been an experience I will remember year after year.

A kept a journal every day.   Every little detail about Luna and how our relationship progressed.  I thought I would share some of my most significant and memorable recollections.

1.)    The hotter days can break 40 degrees Celsius, even in the jungle.  One of my favorite interactions with Luna was stopping to give her water on the trails. Pouring water into my hand and letting her lap it up, licking and purring.  Her purr is amazing, like a sputtering diesel motor, in the mornings and walking she is very vocal.  It is so inspiring knowing how happy she is.  In contrast sometimes there is rain; it is the Amazon after all.  During a rainy day Luna is grumbly and makes little grunts and squeaks of self-pity while hiding under the brush. 

2.)    A large part of Luna’s trail follows a stream, this was one of my favorite areas to walk her as she showcased her agility and undeniable grace; silently leaping from one bank to the next, delicately stepping from rock to rock, balancing on logs to avoid the mud.  Although it was usually an obstacle course to avoid the water, there were hot days when she would just plop down in the middle of the stream and flick her tail to spray water on her back and face.

3.)    A slightly less positive memory, although unforgettable is the ‘Bee Hive’ episode.  Luna was extra jumpy and playful so we tied her to a tree to calm down.  It’s common to have wasps landing on you, usually 2-3 at all times.  Well, we noticed them multiplying and before you knew it we were swarmed with hundreds.  Trying to walk it off they followed us, we obviously must have upset a hive and were paying the price in stings.  It started to get unbearable, a terribly claustrophobic, panicky feeling.  Watching us swatting and dancing and yelping was getting Luna even more excited of course, “Ooh ooh they DO want to play!” We had to make a decision - a swarm of wasps or an overly playful Puma…the Puma it was and although we took some jumps we both agreed it was the right decision (although made over 20 stings late)!

4.)    Another somewhat frightening memory was the falling tree.  The jungle is changing daily, on one such day this happened to be right over top of us.  I was on the rope and Luna was resting, all of the sudden we heard a crackling noise and before I knew what was happening Luna had leapt into action and was dragging me away.  A second later when I heard a thundering crash I looked back and a huge limb had crashed down exactly where we were.   The loud noise scared Luna, her ears were pressed back and her eyes were wide with fear as she was inching backwards.  I approached her and with a clam voice said ‘Todo Bien Luna’.  She looked up to me, looked ahead, and then gently licked my hand.  She looked back to me every couple of steps as she slowly made her way to the fallen tree to inspect.  This was the most amazing feeling knowing that she was scared and looking to my reaction for reassurance. 

5.)    One of my favorite parts of Luna is her playful disposition.  On our walks she would often turn to hunting mode, stalking along in silence…more than once she trapped a butterfly under her daunting paw.  It’s all a game for her so she’d release it, watch it flutter away, and then pounce on it again.  Usually I could see it coming and was able to keep up, but on one specific occasion of overzealous hunting there wasn’t a prayer and down the jungle ravine I went.  Luna was intrigued by this spot for days, sniffing and scenting my slide path.    

6.)    Overly obsessed with Luna and her every move, there’s only one non-puma occasion that is making this shortlist…the tarantula!  It was just past dusk and a full moon was lighting up the sky.  I was reading peacefully, until I felt something furry creep across my foot – in automatic reaction I flicked my foot before looking down.  Then I see a huge black tarantula on the rock right next to me and squeal!  It must have been the full moon because I saw 3 more that night.