A wild puma was spotted prowling through the streets of a town in Brazil.

CCTV footage shows the brown feline wandering around Boa Vista in Roraima on September 30.

The cougar can be seen attempting to enter a residential area, but after several minutes, it eventually walked away.

Residents recalled noticing the puma swimming across a river before dashing into a nearby forest.

Wildlife experts said such encounters are becoming more common as pumas increasingly venture into urban areas.

Around Sao Paulo, within the Atlantic Forest biome, shrinking habitats and declining prey are forcing the animals closer to human settlements, where they face threats from road traffic and conflict with people.

Pumas in Brazil are estimated to number about 2,500. They are listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List, with populations outside the Amazon basin considered Vulnerable.

Authorities have launched conservation initiatives to protect the species, including the creation of ecological corridors linking protected areas. These aim to give pumas safer routes to move across fragmented landscapes and access their natural territories.