Wildcat spotted roaming through gardens near a major French city
Firefighters captured the Serval and took it to a local zoo
The wildcat originates from Sub-Saharan Africa
Stu Porter / Shutterstock
Residents of Lille breathed a sigh of relief after a wildcat was captured by firefighters and taken to a local zoo.
A 15kg serval - that has prints similar to a cheetah - was seen roaming around the gardens of the rue Alfred-de-Musset, in the Vauban district of the city on Tuesday (July 4) morning.
鈥淎t around 7.20am, my wife opened the blind and that's when she saw what looked like a big cat at the bottom of the garden,鈥� said one resident to the local La Voix du Nord newspaper.
鈥淏efore coming to our house, he was staying with my neighbours. They saw it fighting with their cat,鈥� he added.
It took firefighters around two hours to capture the animal - which put up a fight - before they transferred it to the nearby zoo.
The firefighters were also joined by a local vet, as well as a dog-handling unit, to make sure residents were kept safe during the operation.
The origins of the animal are currently unknown, but it will undergo a 鈥減eriod of quarantine鈥� at Lille鈥檚 zoo, said the vet, while more information about the animal is found.
Despite the ordeal, nobody was injured and the animal seems to be in good health.
What is a serval?
A serval is a medium-sized wild cat, originating from Sub-Saharan Africa.
Common in the savannah regions of the continent, the animals usually weigh between 10 - 18 kgs, and can sometimes be found in zoos across Europe, although it is not currently at risk of extinction.
The north of France has seen a number of incidents involving wild animals over the years 鈥� back in February, a lion was reportedly spotted in the town of Prouvy, 50km from Lille.
In 2021, a puma escaped in the Pas-de-Calais department.
Related articles
Protected forest cats come back from the brink of extinction in France
鈥楤ig cat鈥� captured in eastern France is a Savannah cross
