Over the 2025 to 2026 winter break, I went to Peru with my mom, dad, and significant other. My mom’s side of the family is Peruvian, so we have a lot of family there to visit that we hadn’t seen in about 8 years (at least for me). Aside from visiting family, we also planned specific destinations to visit for both our general interest and for my partner—a photographer—to take photos of the beautiful and diverse places we’d see. Our destinations included temples like Chan Chan and the Huacas del Sol (sun) y de la Luna (moon). We visited Las Delicias, a gated and protected beach community by the city of Trujillo which is the northern coastal community where my mom is from. But the destination we anticipated most was Cuzco, the ancient capital of the Inka empire. I couldn’t help but think to myself, “Finally, I have officially seen the scenic picture that takes up the entire images tab of a quick Google search of Machu Picchu (and have a photo of my own!)”. However, you may be asking yourself, how might my wonderful experience in Peru be in any way related to the title of this article? In order to understand, we’ll have to explain certain concepts first, including the significance of the puma in Indigenous Andes mountain history, as well as the modern and rather horrific twists such a symbol plays in the same location today.
The puma, also known as the cougar, panther, or mountain lion, is the second-biggest wild cat in the Americas. They live in the widest habitation range of any other land animal in the Western hemisphere, from the Canadian Yukon all the way down to Chile. Pumas live in a variety of habitats, including mountains, deserts, wetlands, and more. The puma is a carnivore and hunts using an ambush tactic, utilizing darkness, stealth, and patience to catch their prey. Pumas are capable of reaching speeds of 80km/h, granting them the ability to easily outrun prey. The wild puma has a lifespan of 10-13 years despite modern issues of habitat destruction and hunting, although their population has decreased in number from historic levels. For example, a subspecies of puma known as the eastern cougar, which once inhabited southern Ontario and the eastern United States, was declared extinct in 2011. A fun fact about the puma is that they don’t roar like other large wildcats, such as lions and tigers, but sound similar to a house cat, evidenced by their purrs, chirps, growls, and hisses (maybe not as friendly as a house cat goes though).
The word puma actually originates from Quechua—an Andes Indigenous language and also the official language of the Inka empire—and translates into “powerful animal.” Peruvian Indigenous peoples, as well as natives from the Andes mountains, historically think of the puma as a powerful symbol representing strength, agility, and the terrestrial world. The capital of the Inka empire was Cuzco, located in Southern Peru, and was built to be in the shape of a puma thanks to major city developments in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. In visiting many museums and temples, including the Gold Museum of Peru, I noted many artifacts such as textiles and pottery to include the puma in its design as well as shape. Presently, pumas continue to exist freely in the Andes mountains. They even have a few protected areas for the species to exist without danger, such as the Manu National Park in Cuzco.
At the beginning of this article, I briefly mentioned the cities and places I visited in Peru and mentioned Trujillo, my mom’s hometown, which is located near the northern coast of Peru. Although it used to be a small town in my mom’s childhood, it has now grown to be the third largest city in Peru and houses many tourist sites, such as archaeological sites from the Indigenous Chimu and Moche populations, as well as Huanchaco, a popular beach town. In Trujillo, my mom, cousin, partner and I were being driven around by my older cousin to go shopping, visit local archeological temple sites, and more. One time while we were all in the car, my cousin pointed out something on the back of the car in front of us: a puma sticker. The funny thing is that the puma sticker was the exact same brand icon used by the sportswear company, PUMA, but the difference was that the puma sticker was a gold colour with small black spots. I was confused at first, but after my older cousin’s explanation, I quickly fell into a state of shock. It turns out that the puma sticker was a symbol of protection from criminal violence of a certain gang, in which protection is inherently forced through extortion (a.k.a give me this amount of money every month or else your gang protection is revoked and we will kill you). Since visiting Cuzco, the tour provided a wealth of historic information including highlighting the significance of the puma. I think back to this moment and realize how much of a juxtaposition this issue really is. Historically, the Indigenous peoples were thriving in their efficient societies, using the puma as a symbol of strength and connection to Earth (when applicable). Following industrialization, however, the introduction of advanced weaponry, violence, and class-organized crime has only increased, mainly attributable to the poor socioeconomic status of the country and the corrupted government. Further inquiry about this issue to a trusted taxi driver who was driving my mom, partner and I, also revealed that there are multiple gangs with different “protection symbols” that track business owners or well-off families, threaten them, and proceed to identify their cars, businesses and/or homes with the specific gang’s identifying sticker. For example, the taxi driver revealed that another sticker used by the gang, which he called Los Compadres, was of Batman. A Reddit post 11 months ago from a Trujillo inhabitant also detailed many other stickers, including octopuses (from the well-known gang Los Pulpos), highlighting the multitude of extortionist gang symbols. There is also evidence of Trujillo policemen and the national Peruvian police partnering with alleged gang members. I found more information online about the increasing incidence of extortion in Peru, including a 28% increase in extortion police reports in January to July of 2025 compared to those same months in 2024. Such organized crime is not just seen in Trujillo and the surrounding area, but also in the capital of Peru, Lima. In July 2025, there was a public transport strike called to protest increased extortion and murders of transport drivers and the resulting lack of governmental action. In fact, on my way to Cuzco from Lima after I visited Trujillo, I received news of people known well to me who received an extortion text with threatening images. The magnitude of organized crime in Peru is horrific and is only amplified by the government’s poor intervention process, lack of resources, and corruption. No one is safe.
And yet, here in Canada, I do feel safe. Returning home was a culture shock to me since my brain was comparing opposite sides of the world. What do you mean I can feel safe drinking tap water knowing it won’t make me sick (in the GTA at least)? So I can walk around at night safely in my hometown of Oakville? You mean the government and economy are actually stable here? Many thoughts come to mind when I hear a Canadian complain that “Canada is becoming a third-world country.” The sheer amount of privilege thrown at me in the most compact snowball ever by that comment is unimaginable, and it just demonstrates how much people lack education and the ability to think outside of their perspective and worldview. Canada does have its specific issues, as any other country in the world, but I’m always so grateful to live in a country that is globally renowned for being diverse, safe, and prosperous (despite setbacks here and there).
Overall, the comparison of the ancient significance of the puma as a symbol of strength and connection to Mother Earth with the modern usage of such an animal as a gang extortionist symbol goes to show the everyday realities of third-world countries all over the globe and the ongoing generational effects of colonialism, industrialization, and corruption.