Pet serval, exotic African wild cat, recaptured in Illinois after a month on the loose

A serval, a species of exotic African wild cat, that had escaped a month ago from his owner’s Decatur, Illinois, apartment was recaptured.

Servals have long legs, large ears and spots like those of a cheetah.

The Macon County Animal Control and Care Center posted on Facebook Saturday that the serval had been found and brought in. The center also emphasized that the serval will not be euthanized.

---

---

This particular serval, “Reese,” escaped from owner Christopher Solomon’s apartment last month. Animal control is now holding Reese, because servals are illegal to own in Decatur, where Mr. Solomon lives.

“So it’s against a city ordinance in the City of Decatur to have this animal and I know the owner would like to reclaim it, but we’re gonna have to face those legal issues involving that,” Macon County Animal Control Administrator Sgt. Ron Atkins told WICS-TV Monday.

Reese was well-fed and uninjured following his time in the elements, but he was not pleased to be taken back into human custody.

The wild cat had initially been captured in a live trap between Forsyth and Maroa, Illinois, by a private landowner, according to the Herald & Review, a local newspaper.

“It became very defensive and it leapt at our tools and our hands when we tried to touch it. While it may be tame in the care of some people, I would not be comfortable having anybody that I care about around that animal with it not being restrained,” Sgt. Atkins told WAND-TV Monday.

Sgt. Atkins also warned people in the area to watch out for pregnancy in unspayed female outdoor and stray cats, which could have conceivably bred “savannah cat” hybrids with Reese during his time on the lam.