Two African serval cats recaptured Wednesday

Published: Sep. 15, 2021 at 9:31 PM CDT
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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - Update: The two African Servals have been recaptured on Wednesday, according to an employee that works at 256 Exotics.

The employee did not confirm how they were caught but said both cats are together at the store.

Original: Two African serval cats are on the loose in Madison County are considered exotic animals.

They escaped from a barn in Huntsville, Sunday night. The servals and barn are owned by a local exotic animal business called 256 exotics on Winchester Road.

The business owner posted on Facebook when she discovered they were missing, asking for help to find them.

That post has since been deleted, and the owner declined to go on camera. Marianne Hudson is a Conservation Outreach Coordinator for the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division.

She said the African Servals are relatively common as pets in Alabama.

“Servals are not one of Alabama’s native wildlife resources. They are from Africa, so it is legal to possess an African serval as a pet and even to sell it, and they are legal in the pet trade,” said Hudson.

Hudson said servals are bred in the United States and are no longer imported. They have long legs, gold fur with black markings, and have pointed ears. She said they also hunt a variety of prey species.

“We don’t have enough data of what they hunt if they escaped from captivity and hunting here in the wild in Alabama. But typically, a pet serval will be shy of a human being or friendly to a human being. These are carnivores, so they do eat other animals, and they are larger than domestic house cats but not merely as big as you would see big cats like lions and tigers in the zoo,” said Hudson.

If you happen to see the servals, you are urged to contact law enforcement and animal control.

Hudson said you shouldn’t try and catch them yourself.

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