Posted on 10/17/2024 8:58:15 AM PDT by Red Badger
Oct. 16 (UPI) -- An exotic caracal cat seen wandering loose in a Chicago suburb for the past few days was safely captured by animal control officers, authorities said.
The Hoffman Estates Police Department said the caracal, a wild cat species native to Africa and parts of Asia, was found hiding under a local resident's deck and was loaded into a cage by animal control officers.
"He did not like being in that cage," resident Jan Hoffman-Rau told WBBM-TV. "The cat came out wild. I mean, they had it in -- called a snare, or something, with a rope -- and they had it by the neck, but when they dropped it in the cage it went crazy."
She said the officers made sure not to injure the cat during the capture.
"They shot it with a tranquilizer gun, but the drug they used wasn't as potent enough to knock it out. It didn't get real groggy until it was in the cage for about 7-8 minutes," Hoffman-Rau said.
Police said the caracal will have a new permanent home at the Valley of the Kings Sanctuary and Retreat in Sharon, Wis.
"We are sure he will have a healthy and happy life far away from Hoffman Estates," police wrote on social media.
VIDEO AT LINK............................
I have room for it next to my chupacabra.
After fluffy’s posts, I wonder if this was bred in the US or taken from the wild. It seems to me that if it was a ‘legal’ animal and simply escaped, the owner would want it back and speak up. If wild and become unmanageable, they may have just released it.
Taking one from the Africa is not only too expensive it doesn’t really make any sense. Why grab a wild cat and transport it back here when you can spend a few grand and get a hand-raised cat with parents of known temperament?
I suspect that Caracals are illegal to keep as pets in Chicago as they are in some areas of the US and that’s why the owner hasn’t appeared.
It only bites and scratches poor people.
What kind of idiot? It’s like a pet tiger. You are the emergency meal when it gets hungry.
[After fluffy’s posts, I wonder if this was bred in the US or taken from the wild. It seems to me that if it was a ‘legal’ animal and simply escaped, the owner would want it back and speak up. If wild and become unmanageable, they may have just released it.]
It appears they are illegal in Illinois.
But there are stupid people making an illegal buck all over, and stupid people who will buy from them.
hehehe...
emergency meal when it gets hungry... good one.
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In that case I 100% blame the owner. No conscientious owner would put their pet in a situation where it can be confiscated and killed or caged for the rest of its life.
Small exotic cats can make great pets, but only if you know exactly what you’re getting into.
I think we’re agreed on that.
But there are stupid people who traffic in illegal animals, and stupid people who will buy them. I recall stories of them having been caught in airline travel with many exotic birds wrapped up in their clothing, similar stories about reptiles, and several stories of idiots even stealing animals from zoos to try and keep as pets.
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