A serval is recovering at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden after a traumatic experience that left it drugged and injured earlier this year.
A serval is an exotic cat breed native to Africa. This one came to the zoo in late January after it escaped his owner’s car during his owner’s arrest.
As Cincinnati police were arresting the man in Oakley, the serval jumped out of the man’s car and ran up a tree, according to Ray Anderson with Cincinnati Animal CARE.
“We got called in to get the cat out of the tree,” Anderson said.
Authorities initially described the serval as a leopard. Anderson says the Hamilton County Dog Warden deputies were mostly surprised.
“[They weren’t] sure what they were dealing with,” Anderson said. “Hindsight being 20/20, it probably would have involved a whole lot more people.”
Servals can grow to three times the size of a normal cat, weighing in at 20-40 lbs. They can also jump 7 feet in the air.
Anderson says this serval was 30-35 lbs. and was “not excited” to be removed from the tree. It wasn’t easy on either the serval or the rescuers.
“In the process of getting the cat out of the tree ... obviously, the cat didn’t want to get out of the tree ... and our officers were working really hard to make sure they didn’t lose the cat in the process ... Yeah, the leg was broken in the process,” Anderson said.
The cat was eventually rescued, and officers called in an exotic cat expert to learn what to do next. The expert told the serval’s rescuers he didn’t know how they did it. Anderson says the expert told them, “I’d rather deal with a tiger.”
More:Monkeys in Moscow and mambas in Madeira. What wild animals are your neighbors harboring?
The medical staff at Cincinnati Animal CARE tested the serval’s physical health and worked on his leg. They also conducted a toxicology report.
“It did come back positive for cocaine,” Anderson said. “Now, we can’t say how the animal got the cocaine in the system. I don’t know if it was environmental or experimental.”
The Hamilton County Dog Warden conducted an investigation and considered charges.
“But everybody was very cooperative in this case, and we didn’t feel it was necessary,” Anderson said.
The Cincinnati Zoo took in the serval. A zoo spokesperson offered the following statement Tuesday:
“The serval has been receiving veterinary care in our Animal Health Center since he was brought here. He’s doing well, and the next step will be for our Cat Ambassador Program team to work with him and determine if he’s a good fit to be an ambassador animal. He will likely be behind the scenes for a while.”
More:Madeira may punch up dangerous wild animals law, but no penalty for violations
Enquirer media partner Fox19 provided this report.
Source link
