This cougar prowled the streets of Santiago in search of food and water after the Chilean capital resembled a ghost town due to the COVID-19 pandemic<br />A wild puma has been filmed stalking the streets of a deserted city which had been placed on lockdown due to coronavirus.<br /><br />In the video, recorded yesterday, the powerfully-built animal takes advantage of the curfew to roam through a car park and public walkway.<br />But, spooked by a policeman and a photographer, the beast suddenly breaks into a run, looking panicked while trying to find an escape route in the concrete jungle.<br /><br />It then leaps over a two-metre high fence with its powerful back legs, vanishing into someone’s garden.<br /><br />The bizarre incident was filmed in the Chilean capital of Santiago and authorities confirmed they were later able to capture the wild beast, which they said was frightened.<br />Police said it had prowled into a school to try to evade capture but was safely tranquillised and taken to a zoo where it will be looked after until it can be returned to the wild.<br /><br />The cougar was an adult male weighing 35kg, Prensa Latina reports.<br /><br />Chile has 922 confirmed cases of coronavirus and two deaths related to COVID-19, the disease it causes.<br /><br />In response to the pandemic, the government has closed schools and imposed a nighttime curfew to try and hinder the spread of the highly-contagious virus.<br />Cougars, also known as mountain lions in the US, are normally shy animals but have been known to attack and kill humans.<br />
